Gundam SEED Resolve
by WayFarer2000
Summary: While the heroes of the two wars struggle to move forward with their lives, hidden forces of the past and present maneuver to exploit current political tensions, seeking to strike at the heroes at a personal level. A Post Destiny continuation saga. Dead.
1. Phase 01: Settling

_Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny were created by Sunrise. I do not own Gundam Seed nor Gundam Seed Destiny._

_Background Notes: This piece of fanfiction takes into account Final Plus, but ignores the events in the Gundam Seed Destiny Special Editions._

_Special Thanx to my editor, Mumyou Nanashi!_

**Phase 01 - Settling**

x-x-x

Under the bright morning sun, two uniformed figures emerged from a sports utility vehicle and walked calmly toward a recently remodeled home. Gravel crunched under their boots as they proceeded along the driveway. The man in front, adorned in the honored white ZAFT uniform, carried an electronic clipboard tucked under his arm. Accompanying him, a woman paced herself respectively behind her commander, dressed in the male version of the Red Coat attire.

Passing a sleek, black sports car parked on the driveway, the commander arrived at the doorstep and rang the doorbell. After a moment of silent waiting passed, the door opened to reveal an attractive woman with magenta hair.

"Yza – I mean – Commander Jule!" Lunamaria exclaimed, saluting stiffly. Although she met the brash young man a few times in past visits, she never encountered him in his formal military uniform.

"At ease, Lunamaria," Yzak replied nonchalantly. "Is everyone in?"

"Yes. Please, come in."

Allowing the commander entry through the doorway, Lunamaria observed Yzak's pause as he absorbed the changes in the house since his last visit. Over here, a wrecked wall was restored, supporting a shelf holding a picture of her sister and herself. Over there, a newly redone set of stairs allowed for a path to everyone's rooms. In a severe twist of irony, Shinn's family home suffered no harm from the first war three years ago when the EAF attempted to invade; however, a stray explosion from ZAFT's attack in Operation: Fury resulted in some collateral damage. On leave from ZAFT for an undefined amount of time, Lunamaria and Shinn came to Orb to find the house in disrepair and partial ruins.

Over the next few summer months, the pair worked on fixing the house. Additionally, despite Shinn's frequent protestations, Athrun and Meyrin joined in on the restoration effort. The day the two arrived to help was an amusing memory for Lunamaria. Shinn had been so engrossed in the surprisingly difficult task of installing a corner support that he did not immediately notice Lunamaria had stopped working to talk to her sister. Only after their animated voices reached his ears did he pause from his work to greet Meyrin. However, Shinn then had heard some noises of... destruction... from another room in the house. Racing over with the sisters following closely behind, the red-eyed former pilot reached a scene of horror and dread, as he watched Athrun take apart one of the recently replaced corner supports.

Lunamaria could not recall the exact words and phrases that were swiftly exchanged, though Shinn did include some creative expletives on his part. The conversation went something along the lines of the following:

"_What are you doing?"_

"_You attached this incorrectly."_

"_No, I didn't!"_

"_I think you did."_

"_Look, I know what I'm doing; I've been installing corner supports for the past three - no, four – days!"_

"_Well, these arrow markings are going in the wrong direction, according to this manual."_

Throw in some more yelling on Shinn's part, as well as some more patient explaining on Athrun's part, and one can obtain a fairly accurate image of the situation.

After some time, the argument came to a stasis as Shinn internally acknowledged that... perhaps... there was a _slight_ chance that Athrun – maybe – had a _possibly_ valid point. Especially in light of the user-friendly diagrams depicted in the manual. Despite this internal concession, Shinn refused to admit defeat, and thus shooed Athrun away.

In the following weeks, similar scenes occurred. Athrun would arrive unannounced to help out on the days he had off from Morgenroete, and Shinn would attempt to browbeat Athrun into leaving. Fortunately for Shinn, Athrun failed to discover any other examples of incorrect workmanship; thus in these verbal altercations Shinn did not come across as a completely incompetent, childish whiner. He still sounded like a childish whiner, just not an incompetent one. Athrun, having achieved a certain measure of wisdom over the years, decided against helping Shinn with the specific task of replacing the wrongly installed corner supports.

Eventually, Lunamaria took an initiative on her own and asked Shinn to allow Athrun and Meyrin to help with the remodeling. In addition to practical reasons, Lunamaria alluded to the awkward tension regarding the Cagalli-Athrun-Meyrin situation, and perhaps it would be best if Athrun had something to keep his mind off certain topics. As one who understood denial... err, that is... taking a break from particularly stressful thoughts, Shinn acceded to her request. Lunamaria omitted the little fact that, as a result of this arrangement, Athrun would be spending more of his time in Meyrin's presence. After all, sisters ought to help each other out, and, really, there were just some things men didn't need to know.

With her Coordinator mind, Lunamaria compressed the memory of those months into a two-second reminiscence. However, she quickly snapped back to the present when the dark haired woman accompanying Yzak crossed the entrance. The female guest nodded politely. "Long time no see, Luna."

"Same here, Shiho." Lunamaria nodded at the uniform. "Is this pleasure or business?"

Shiho Hahnenfuss smiled enigmatically and tilted her head, causing her ponytail to bounce slightly. "You'll see."

Curiosity piqued, Lunamaria followed the commander's path to the dining room, in which Yzak had just exchanged greetings with Athrun and Meyrin. The two were seated at their usual positions around the old oak table, viewing the news together on a laptop – most likely another anti-Orb demonstration held in PLANT. Shinn had invited Athrun and Meyrin to stay at his house during the remodeling period, and extended a more permanent invitation afterwards. Lunamaria suspected this gesture was something of a peace offering to the pair, especially to Athrun, regarding Shinn's actions during the Second Valentine War.

"I did not expect you to arrive until later this evening, Yzak," Athrun said. "Hello, Shiho-san."

"Hello, Athrun-san," Shiho replied. She took a standing position behind and to the left of Yzak. Lunamaria, seating herself at the table, watched Athrun take note of Shiho's stiff military posture despite the informal conversation taking place.

"Lacus-san wanted to arrive early," Yzak answered, pausing a moment to sit. "Shopping," he offered with mild grimace. Shiho unsuccessfully suppressed a smirk.

Meyrin smiled in amusement. "She must be busy. Lacus-san is not the type to wait until the last minute."

Athrun asked Yzak, "Why are you annoyed? It's not like she dragged you along."

"I wasn't finished recalibrating my present for tonight." Behind Yzak, Shiho lost her grin.

The three residents exchanged looks of equal parts surprise and curiosity. Athrun shrugged, apparently deciding to let the matter rest. Lunamaria, however, could not resist. "What did you get Murrue-san and Mwu-san for their wedding shower?" she ventured.

"I'm returning Duel to the Archangel."

Pause.

Behind Yzak, Shiho rolled her eyes and silently sighed. Lunamaria glanced at the other two again, seeing her disbelief mirrored. She wanted to make sure. "That's your gift?"

"Yes."

"You're returning GAT-X102 Duel as a gift?" Meyrin needed to be sure as well.

"Yes."

"The same Duel we stole from Heliopolis?" Evidently, Athrun _also_ had to confirm.

"Yes!" Yzak growled. "You have a problem with that?"

"Err... no... no problem," Lunamaria slowly replied. She wondered what it would be like to steal candy from a baby and then return the candy as a birthday present. Not that Murrue and Mwu were babies, but still...

Athrun had given a vague explanation about the events surrounding the five mobile suits from Heliopolis. The story was prompted one evening when Meyrin posed the question of how he met Kira and the others on the Archangel. Shinn, Lunamaria, and Meyrin discovered a few surprises that evening, such as the friendship between Athrun and the Freedom pilot extended much before the First Valentine War, and that Kira actually piloted the Strike against the Creuset squad. Athrun, Lunamaria suspected, left out a lot of critical information, and thus the three had a large number of questions they wanted to ask.

Why would Kira, a Coordinator, be part of the Earth Alliance?

Was the EA's mobile suit training that good, to create such a pilot that could succeed so well in his first battle?

And didn't Athrun get the Nebula award for taking down Strike? Did he actually try to kill his friend?

This, however, hit a little too close to home for Shinn, and the Hawke sisters sensed that asking Athrun these questions would only cause more grief. Lunamaria had later asked Meyrin's friend Miriallia for further juicy gossip – uh, that is – _clarifications_ – about the history of the two pilots, but the brunette had suddenly lost much of her cheerfulness that afternoon and quietly declined to answer.

Regardless, after both wars, the Duel was still in the hands of ZAFT. Until this evening, apparently. Lunamaria glanced toward Shiho with a look that asked for confirmation about the gift and simultaneously carried a question regarding Yzak's sanity. Shiho lowered her face into her hand and nodded resignedly, answering affirmatively to both questions. Yzak caught this glance and frowned. But before he could explode in defense of his gift, another voice penetrated the conversation.

"Did someone ring the doorbell?" Shinn asked, walking into the dining room. "Oh, hi Yzak. Shiho."

Lunamaria watched Shinn register their visitors' uniform, Shiho's posture, and the relaxed demeanors of his house mates. Seeing his confusion on the formality of this visit, Lunamaria suggested, "Have a seat, Shinn."

"Uh... okay." Shinn took the remaining chair at the table. "What's going on?"

"I have news." Yzak announced, standing up. "Congratulations, Athrun Zala, Meyrin Hawke. You two are both cleared of all charges regarding your actions in the Second Valentine War. The top brass recognizes that you, Hawke, were simply obeying the orders of a superior officer. As for you, Zala, your actions have been deemed to be in line with your assignment from Chairman Dullindal, which consisted of you preventing and stopping ZAFT from doing anything stupid. Granted, you failed, but that doesn't make you a traitor. Just incompetent. Welcome back to ZAFT."

The young commander glanced at his electronic clipboard and said, "Unofficially, I am passing on a request from the Council that you, Zala, do not defect _yet again_ in the foreseeable future. And you, Hawke, have been asked to provide details as to how you hacked Gibraltar's security system. This is also unofficial because otherwise the security idiots in Gibraltar would have to officially admit that they still cannot figure out what you did. Even after a half year of investigation." Everyone smiled at this last statement.

Yzak then turned to Shinn and Lunamaria. "Shinn Asuka, Lunamaria Hawke. Your leave is over. You two, as well as Meyrin Hawke, are now assigned to the Voltaire under me. We have mobile suits ready for you two pilots. Meyrin, you are now my new CIC. All three of you, report in at 0800 tomorrow."

Before the four truly had a chance to absorb all of this, Yzak continued, "Zala, Asuka. Due to the dissolution of the FAITH program, you two no longer have that status. Asuka has been given the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Zala has been given the rank of Commander, and thus will not be serving under me, you lucky bastard. You are also expected to board the Voltaire at 0800 tomorrow so that I can be your goddamn chauffeur and transport you to PLANT. Further orders await you there. Your mobile suit is aboard my ship as well."

Directing his attention to Meyrin, he said in a less formal tone, "Meyrin Hawke, despite the dismissed charges, you will still face the political nightmare of your comrades talking behind your back and your superiors doubting your abilities and loyalties. That's why I had you assigned to my ship, since my crew is a bit more understanding about these issues. As for you, Zala, I couldn't care less about what others think of you."

Lunamaria's mind raced through the implications. While they had expected Athrun and Meyrin to eventually be cleared of all charges, no one expected the two to be reassigned back into ZAFT. Athrun was a colonel in Orb's military; how was that going to be handled? And frankly, the four of them had grown accustomed to a non-military lifestyle. Returning to ZAFT, for Shinn and herself seemed like a distant reality.

Still, Meyrin, Shinn and herself will all be on the same ship, so at least they had each other. All in all, it could be worse.

"Any questions?" Yzak asked.

"What are the suits?" Shinn inquired.

_Boys and their toys_, Lunamaria thought to herself amusingly. Shinn, and Athrun to an extent, had this contradictory aspect to them: while they well and truly desired peace, there was no denying that both were pilots who loved battling in mobile suits. If pressed, Lunamaria would have to admit that she herself would fall in this category. In fact, she only knew of one elite pilot who disliked fighting.

"Destiny has been repaired, so you, Asuka, will receive that back. Lunamaria, since ZAFT is still delaying the repairs on the Minerva, we have Impulse with only its Force Silhouette attached. And you, Zala, will be piloting the Legend, which was just repaired. It was originally yours anyways. That, and everyone who has practiced with the DRAGOON system hates it, so we're saddling you with it."

Shiho coughed slightly. Yzak sighed and added, "Okay, everyone but Shiho hates the system, but that's because she did some of the research for the project. And her ego won't let her admit that it really does suck." Behind her commander, Shiho stuck her tongue out at Yzak.

Shinn eyebrows furrowed. "Lieutenant Commander? Isn't that just the rank of an officer that ZAFT doesn't want to have commanding a squadron? I got demoted from FAITH to that?" Lunamaria elbowed him in the ribs. "Uh, pardon me. Is that what happened, Sir?"

Yzak's furrowed in anger as he snapped, "What the hell-"

"I never said I will return to ZAFT," Athrun interrupted. All eyes turned toward him, but he remained unperturbed by the attention. Out of the corner of her eye, Lunamaria noticed that Meyrin had slightly tensed at Athrun's statement.

Yzak frowned. "Look, you idiot. The only reason why they dropped the charges is because we argued that your actions were in line with your orders. That means you never left ZAFT. So unless you want to admit to being a traitor, you're coming back!"

Lunamaria waited for a response from Athrun; however, he kept silent. His eyes unfocused, seeming to gaze off into the distance.

Yzak's expression softened as he looked away. "What's keeping you in Orb, Athrun?"

x-x-x

"Cagalli-sama."

The young Representative of Orb, having just exited the Emirs' meeting room for a lunch recess, glanced at the owner of the voice. She continued on her path in the yellow-painted hallway while giving her reply. "Yes, Elizabeth?"

Her secretary caught up with her, eyeing an electronic clipboard in the process. "Several things. The latest reports on the rebuilding of the city are available."

"Summarize and distribute them to myself and the Emirs," Cagalli responded.

"The shelters for war victims are requesting more relief."

"Contact Treasury to allocate more funds to them."

"Another anti-PLANT protest was held in Winnoga."

"Was there any violence?"

"No, it was a peaceful demonstration.

"Good. Set up a video meeting with the mayor and myself for tomorrow to discuss what happened."

"The Earth Alliance is requesting..."

The conversation continued in that vein, with Cagalli making choices that affected the fate of her nation. Unlike the aftermath of the First Valentine War, the blond princess presently commanded the respect of the other Orb Representatives. It had taken two years of struggle against manipulative Emirs and a global war for her to acquire this level of confidence and power. Some might even consider the Second Valentine War as a long and arduous coming-of-age ceremony for Cagalli. Additionally, though few voiced the thought aloud, her status also stemmed from the fact that many of the conspirators working with the Saran House had died together while hiding in the same ill-fated shelter during ZAFT's Operation: Fury.

Regardless of cause, Cagalli now stood at the forefront of global politics. Genuinely operating in the best interests of Orb, she successfully handled matters to better the people of her country.

The things one desires to do, and the things one is able to do.

"Morgenroete is asking when Admiral Yamato will be returning. They said, and I quote, 'The changes and updates Kira-sama sent to Project SA and the Project Sim work as he specified. However, despite three weeks of analysis, we still do not understand how and why they work.' End quote."

Cagalli tried and failed to hide her amusement. Many of the Morgenroete scientists had long swallowed their pride and freely admitted that Kira did their jobs better than they could. "I'll tell Erica-san tonight."

"You asked me to remind you about Commander Jule and his gift," Elizabeth informed.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Give my approval and let Kisaka handle it. I've already talked to him about this matter."

"The Ambassador of Scandinavia will be arriving later than expected for tonight's ball."

"How late?"

"A half hour after the wedding shower begins."

Cagalli sighed. However much she wanted to avoid the ball, political circumstances obligated her to make an appearance. She had already resigned herself to two hours of looking prim and proper before leaving for the wedding shower, but this had assumed the aforementioned Ambassador would attend on time. Scandinavia was an important ally during the Second Valentine War, and, political connections aside, she honestly did admire the country's willingness to stay true to their beliefs.

"Alright. I'll wait until after meeting with the Ambassador before leaving. Inform Murrue-san that I will be later than expected and have a set of clothes ready for Lacus and myself to change into by then."

"Mana-san has already taken care of that matter."

The blond princess stopped at those words, turning to her secretary. "Define 'taken care of'," Cagalli demanded. She noticed Elizabeth failed to suppress a grin.

"The dress is so beautiful! Lacus-sama saw it this morning and bought it for you. She showed it to Mana-san and, well, you can guess what happened."

"You were there?"

"Yes."

"And you of course informed Lacus and Mana that, having been in a formal ball gown for two hours, I have absolutely no desire to jump into yet another dress. Right?" Cagalli snapped sharply. Several guards walking down the hallway suddenly decided the adjacent corridors needed investigation.

"It is my belief that Lacus-sama and Mana-san are fully aware of your tastes in fashion, and that I would not be able to add anything substantial to further their knowledge on this matter," Elizabeth replied smoothly.

She could only glare at Elizabeth. "You rehearsed that, didn't you?"

"Whatever do you mean by that, Cagalli-sama?" Elizabeth's sunny smile was flawlessly devoid of guilt. Cagalli knew of no other person who could play the innocent act so well.

The blond princess sighed in resignation. _Mana has another ally. Great._

x-x-x

The two were utterly focused on their game, almost oblivious to the outside world. The Hawk of Endymion and the Desert Tiger concentrated on their duel, straining to defeat the other. The battleground: a game of attack, defense, and out-thinking the opponent. Each one considered possible strategies, what losses that can be made for a better lead, or what probes to test the opponent. The two players have enjoyed this pastime in the recent weeks, and each match left an impression on their respective memories. They both decided to have at least one game daily, often more.

Currently Mwu La Flaga sat still, waiting for Andrew Waltfeld's next move. Sweat trickled down his temple, as he considered the possibilities that can occur on this battlefield.

"Aren't you two too old for video games?" Murrue interrupted over the speaker.

"Whuh?" Mwu responded unintelligibly. Andrew took the opportunity to launch a series of beam attacks at Mwu's mobile suit in the simulator.

"NOO!" Mwu shouted. The controllers strained as he sharply dodged left and up, but too many of Andrew's shots landed, destroying his mobile suit. The simulation ended, with the statistics of the match displayed on the screen. Murrue heard Andrew's chuckling through her com-piece.

Murrue, lunch coffee in hand, watched both men exit the simulation cockpits, emerging from their technological cocoons into the hangar of the Archangel. Meanwhile, various members of the crew were setting up tables and decorations. Though a bit odd, the couple felt the ship would be the most appropriate place to have their wedding shower. Mwu even once joked of having their wedding there as well, with Kira as the officiant. After a few seconds of giggling at the notion of Kira presiding over the ceremony, the couple had suddenly become thoughtful of the prospect.

At the moment, though, Mwu was anything but thoughtful; instead, he wore an expression of sheer devastation and sorrow. Murrue could only shake her head. _How appropriately dramatic._ "Shouldn't you be helping with the preparations, Mwu?"

Mwu looked at his fiancée with a face of hurt, as if he was wrongly accused of the crime of sloth. "But Murrue, Athrun and Sai said we should make sure the software update from Kira is working properly."

The Archangel captain deadpanned an expression of utter disbelief. Serious but carefree, her fiancé's actions seemed to cover the entire spectrum. She sometimes wondered if she would ever be able to handle him when he was on the carefree end. Still, she fondly recalled when he planned the perfect date, the end of which he proposed to her. It was the happiest day of her life, and her future seemed to only improve from there.

Patting the simulator, Mwu continued on despite her skepticism. "Seriously, Murrue. You know everyone that's coming tonight. This simulator will be the primary piece of entertainment."

"No it won't!" another voice chimed. Murrue and the two men turned to see Miriallia carrying a box of _oh Kami that can't be what I think it is!_ Unfortunately, Miriallia confirmed her fears. "The main entertainment will be the Karaoke Contest!"

The three older war veterans paused to absorb this information.

"Wait, we never said we would have-" Mwu began.

"What, are you afraid of a little singing in public?" the young woman cut in.

"Well," Mwu slowly replied, scratching the back of his neck. "The Pink Princess will be here, so there won't be much of a contest, right?" Murrue's hope soared at Mwu's convincing logic. Maybe she can get out of this.

"Oh, you're scared of a teenage girl? I thought you were the man who can make the impossible possible." Miriallia challenged.

Mwu opened and closed his mouth silently several times, vainly trying to find an appropriate response. Murrue watched him turn to her for help, but she still had not recovered from the paralysis effect generated by the Box of Dreadful Objects. Mwu then looked for assistance from Andrew.

"Sorry, but my mother made sure I had music in my genes. It would be disrespectful if I didn't participate, right?" His wide grin lent much doubt to the sincerity of his apology.

"Well there you go!" Miriallia turned away, taking with her the Box of Horror. Murrue caught a fleeting glimpse of a victory smile. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion; her young friend must have mapped this entire encounter out. Miriallia had an assertive nature at times, but the aggressiveness of this particular conversation struck the Archangel captain as odd. In fact, Murrue contemplated further, Andrew might have been part of the plan as well.

"How the... Isn't this _our_ wedding shower?" Mwu asked no one in particular.

Setting aside Mwu's reaction for the moment, Murrue turned to confront the suspected co-conspirator, who seemed to be sniffing the air. But before she spoke a word, the Desert Tiger frowned and asked, "Is that instant coffee?"

"Err-no-no-it's-not!" Murrue quickly gulped down the contents of her cup. _Hot! Really, really hot!_ After nearly choking on the beverage, she tried to school her expression into something bland, hiding her guilt for choosing instant coffee over Andrew's special blends.

The two men gave her incredulous looks, as if she just... lied about what coffee she was drinking. With a blush growing on her cheeks, Murrue quickly turned around. She marched stiffly away, announcing over her shoulder, "Continue testing that software update."

The Hawk and Tiger smiled.

x-x-x

In the hangar bay of another ship, crew members scrambled to prepare for the night's mission. Inside a mobile suit cockpit, one young man typed furiously at a keyboard.

"CPC setup complete. Neural linkage ion density, normal. Parameters of meta-motor section, updated. Nuclear reactor, critical. Power flow normal. Systems, all green..."

x-x-x

_Athrun and I will be separated._

This thought prevailed in Meyrin's mind as she adorned her ears with jewelry, preparing for the evening's party. The redhead would never have claimed to be a complex person, but she was definitely in complex circumstances. Love triangles always had some measure of awkwardness, but this one involved the leader of a country and an elite mobile suit pilot of questionable loyalties. Their reinstatement into ZAFT added another large variable into this relationship knot. Only a full scale war between ZAFT and Orb could make life worse for her, and everyone certainly had enough of that.

Some time after the Battle of the Messiah, Meyrin quietly put in a request to retire from her position as CIC aboard the Eternal, ending her short career with Terminal. Lacus had graciously approved it, and then Cagalli helped her secure a programming position at Morgenroete on Athrun's and Kira's Project Sim. In fact, the Orb Representative even found several prospective apartments for her; half of which were located near Lunamaria and Shinn, and the other half were _close to Athrun's home!_ Meyrin almost wished for Cagalli to act like a real rival and vie for Athrun's attention. Not that she had the confidence to think she could win, but at least this guilt gnawing on her mind would go away.

The one time Meyrin asked her sister for advice regarding this whole situation ended in Luna's decision to go slap Athrun around until he finally got a clue. It took pleading, physical resistance, and the threat of revealing the contents on page 119 of Luna's diary to stop the older sister from embarking such a rash crusade. The younger sister really had no one else to turn to for advice. Shinn was... _not_ an expert on relationships. Lacus spent what little free time she had with Kira, and, to be honest, Meyrin did not want to complicate the love triangle further by dragging a former fiancée into the picture. That left Miriallia, but she and Meyrin's other friends from the Archangel (wisely) chose to remain uninvolved. Most likely, Meyrin suspected, they all wanted Cagalli to reunite with Athrun.

The redhead sighed as she smoothed the wrinkles out of her purple skirt. She had been avoiding having this discussion with the obvious person: Athrun Zala himself. _And now we're going to see Cagalli later._ Oh, how she wanted this evening to be over soon. But then, tomorrow, the four of them needed to board the Voltaire, which would eventually lead to Athrun leaving for whatever it is ZAFT wants him to do while the rest were stuck on Yzak's ship for Kami knows how long only to escort Lacus back and forth PLANT and Orb even though she already had Kira and Freedom although he was gone for the moment but still wait maybe Athrun can also join in on the escort-

Meyrin shook her head and took slow, deep breaths to calm herself. She recognized what her brain was trying to do: block out the possibility of Athrun staying in Orb and, of equal importance, the reason why.

"Are you alright, Meyrin?" her sister asked from the adjacent bathroom. Luna must have heard the deep breathing.

"I'm alright, Sis. Just... thinking about the transfer."

Luna walked into the room the two sisters shared, reaching for her high heels. Shiho, already dressed in an elegant pant suit for the evening's party, sat with her legs crossed on Meyrin's bed. "How pleasant is it to work under Commander Jule, Shiho? Does he really get angry all the time?" Luna asked.

Shiho smiled at the question. "That rumor is not entirely false, but there are really only two reasons why Commander Jule loses his temper. The first is that he has no patience with incompetence. That's understandable."

Meyrin and her sister nodded.

"The second is when _he_ feels incompetent. He is, after all, one of the best of the best," Shiho continued. Meyrin understood, as Yzak Jule held the record as the youngest commander in ZAFT, and was a member of the infamous Creuset squad. "But back in his Academy days, he kept losing to Athrun Zala in training exercises, and during the First War... let's just say that his first meeting with Admiral Yamato was very interesting."

The younger sister furrowed her eyebrows for a moment. "Umm... does that mean the Commander gets angry when we are incompetent, and also when we are _too_ competent?"

Shiho paused for a moment, her face expressing surprise and thought. "That's an interesting way of phrasing it. That statement holds some accuracy."

"Wait, back up," Luna interjected. "What happened when he met Kira-san?"

Meyrin looked at her sister. "I didn't tell you this story, Sis?" As she was aboard the Eternal at the time, the incident traveled along the gossip chain and eventually reached the bridge crew.

"No, you didn't. What happened? Commander Jule knew that Kira-san was the pilot of Strike, right?" Luna asked.

Shiho smiled amusedly. "Yes, he did. But you know how, in ZAFT, we pilots let the mechanics handle most of the repairs and mobile suit maintenance?"

x-x-x

_Walking into the hangar of the Eternal, Shiho Hahnenfuss and two other teammates followed their commander as he strode purposely forward. Moving toward the Strike Freedom, they spotted a young brown-haired man about their age. A grease stain marred the back of the orange Orb technician outfit he wore. From the angle of their approach, Shiho had a good view of the man's profile. Typing away furiously at two different keyboards, he was reprogramming the Strike Freedom targeting system with his left hand and rewriting certain modules of the DRAGOON system with his right._

"_Excuse me, where is the Admiral?" Yzak asked in a clear voice._

_The technician shrugged, not speaking._

_Commander Jule, clearly annoyed at the lack of a respectful response, moved to face the maintenance worker. He opened his mouth to speak._

"_Hey kid!" a baritone voice boomed into the hangar, coming from the shoulder of Strike Freedom. "Did you replace the ball bearings in section 42-G of the left arm joint?"_

"_Yeah!" the young worker shouted back, keeping his eyes on the monitors. "The material in those bearings does not hold under combat stress!"_

"_What? That's the same grade that ZAFT uses for the mobile suits of their Redcoats!" the deep voice asserted._

"_ZAFT Redcoats don't push their suits to their limit!" the technician responded._

_Shiho watched her commander's right eye twitch and also noticed the frowns on her teammate's faces. They wore green, but this mechanic insulted the pride of ZAFT. "Who the hell do you think you are, mocking ZAFT like that?" Yzak yelled, slamming his hands on the computer cart._

_The technician finally looked up. "Umm..." he began carefully. "Can I help you with something?" Of course, he was still typing at the computer terminals._

_To say Commander Jule was livid was an understatement. "Name and rank, soldier!" Yzak demanded._

_The typing stopped, and the worker frowned. "I've done nothing to deserve being shouted at."_

"_What?"_

_At this point, another voice entered the conversation. "Yzak!" Dearka hollered as he ran up to them. "Yo, Kira."_

"_Dearka." The technician known as Kira nodded. _Wait, Kira?_, Shiho thought._

"_What are you mad about now, Yzak?" Dearka asked, confused at Yzak's furious countenance._

_Before Yzak had a chance to say anything, Shiho snapped a smart salute. "Admiral Yamato, sir!" Everyone looked at her in surprise, confused for a fleeting moment._

_The admiral raised his right hand to his head in an awkward ZAFT salute. "Uh, at ease. Please."_

_Shiho brought her hand down just as her teammates reluctantly saluted the admiral; apparently, they were still sore at his comment about ZAFT soldiers. Yzak, having finally made the obvious connection, had his eyes closed and his fists were slightly shaking. After a few breaths, he opened his eyes, and, through clenched teeth, he ground out, "Greetings, Admiral Yamato. Commander Jule, here to escort Lacus Clyne to PLANT." Shiho wisely contained her amusement over her commander._

"_Hello, Commander. Thank you for the escort," Admiral Yamato replied. He then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I sometimes forget that I'm an admiral."_

"_Kira," Dearka broke in, hesitantly. "This is Yzak Jule, former pilot of GAT-X102 Duel." Turning to the Jule squad, he continued, "Everyone, this is Admiral Kira Yamato, former pilot of GAT-X105 Strike and current pilot of ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom."_

_Shiho and her teammates looked at the admiral in surprise and some measure of awe. _The admiral pilots Freedom?_, they all thought. _This man was the terror of ZAFT! What's he doing in a grease monkey's uniform? He should be on the bridge! He's kind of cute!

x-x-x

"WHAT?" Meyrin and Lunamaria shouted. Rather loudly, at that.

"Uh..." Shiho, with her hands covering her mouth from the unintentional statement, glanced at the two shocked sisters. "AnywaysI'llTellTheRestLaterLet'sGoNow," she spluttered before standing up to leave.

"Oh, no you're not. Repeat what you just said!" Lunamaria demanded with an evil grin. The two sisters latched onto Shiho with their infamous Hawke Talon Grip, one of the world's most effective forms of persuasion. Perfected over the years since their childhood, Lunamaria and Meyrin were able to use a form of cute pleading, oh-so-innocent pouty expressions, and essentially increase their charm factor by several orders of magnitude to a devastating effect. Their parents and Shinn could never withstand such a coordinated attack, and one time even Rey succumbed to their efforts.

In an effort to save her dignity, Shiho resisted and tried to push the sisters away. Meyrin, already in her heels, lost her balance and fell over onto her bed. She pulled Shiho down as well, who was gripped by Lunamaria, which resulted in the older sister falling on top of both.

The door burst open with Shinn in the lead, Athrun right behind him, and Yzak following.

"What happened Lun-"

"I heard a screa-"

"If it's a stupid cockroach I'm goin-"

And all three men stared at the scene in front of them. The three women lay in a delightfully entangled mess of luscious legs, flaring skirts, hands in inappropriate places, shirts hiked up hi-

"GET OUT!"

Athrun and Yzak, with flaming red faces, turned around quickly and all but ran out of the room. Shinn, also flushed with embarrassment, pivoted to leave. However, right as he reached the doorway, Shinn stole another glance at the-

"GET OUT SHINN!"

Two pairs of arms appeared through the doorway and yanked Shinn out.

x-x-x

_This is even more enjoyable than I expected_, Lacus thought to herself. After finishing a delicious mint dessert, the guests of the ball took to the dance floor. Unlike most formal balls she attended in the past, Lacus discovered this one to have a particularly festive mood. Despite the large list of high-profile invitees, she found only a small amount of politics flowing in the conversations. It seemed most of the persons here simply desired to have a good time.

After her last minute shopping trip that morning, Lacus had prepared for the evening gala at Cagalli's mansion. There, she learned from Mana the origins of this peculiar event: it started as an outdoor barbecue. The great-grandfather of the Bae family's current head celebrated his wedding anniversary by inviting relatives and close friends to a cookout. He held such an event each year, and his progeny continued the tradition until this day. All things evolved in time, and what was originally a not-so-small picnic grew larger. The party changed hosts within the family across generations, but the spirit of the event never altered. All attendees silently understood that the day, whatever its nature, was an aristocratic holiday to relax and enjoy.

This year, Arisu Bae, the young heiress of the Bae household, decided the theme to be an old-fashioned ball. And, much to Lacus's delight, she received an invitation for herself and an escort. With Kira away on his sabbatical, the songstress arrived singly; the relaxed atmosphere removed any discomfort in attending alone. Furthermore, this allowed Lacus to spend time with Cagalli, who also came sans escort.

However, apparently such company was not welcome.

"Do you still refuse to converse with me, Cagalli?" Lacus inquired with a sweet smile.

Crossing her arms over her chest and wrinkling her ivory gown in the process, Cagalli turned her head away with an indignant huff.

"Do you not think that one should look at the situation at all angles before rendering judgment?" Lacus elegantly posed forth.

The blond princess lifted her drink and took a sip, ignoring the one-sided conversation.

"You always look amazing in green."

More silence.

"And the orange accents on the dress bring out your eyes."

She shut her eyelids tightly.

"Why, it also matches Orange-chan as well!" Lacus exclaimed bubbly.

"Then why don't you wear it!" Cagalli snapped.

"Well, well, it seems Representative Atha is talking to me now," Lacus spoke to Pink-chan, which rolled slightly in her hands.

"Hurray, Hurray!" the robot responded.

The young blond covered her face with her palm in frustration. "I'm going to buy you a gun, Lacus, and force you to learn how to use it." Cagalli then smiled wickedly. "Or maybe a bazooka. I'll make sure it _works_ well with Pink-chan. And Orange-chan. And all of your other Haros which happen to be roughly the same size as a rocket-propelled grenade."

Lacus clutched Pink-chan protectively away from the diabolical princess. "You wouldn't!" she gasped in mock outrage.

"It's like paintball, but with Haros."

The songstress was rendered speechless at the thought.

"Actually, the Haros would make excellent targets for marksmanship training. Small, mobile, intelligent, and everyone would get the satisfaction of shooting them..."

"Cagalli!" Lacus exclaimed in somewhat more authentic outrage.

"Just imagine, in Kira's simulator, a whole fleet of giant, mobile suit-sized Haros flying at you with glowing red eyes shouting, 'I cannot accept this! I cannot accept this!' It would be terrifying!" The two princesses held each other's gaze for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Switching topics, Cagalli asked, "Why aren't you on the dance floor, Lacus? You were excited about this ball."

Gazing at the waltzing guests longingly, Lacus softly replied, "He's not here."

The Orb Representative remained silent for a moment, sipping her drink. Meanwhile, the musicians finished the waltz selection and began a tango piece. "It's been four months since he left, hasn't it?"

The pink princess made an affirmative sound. Four _long_ months. For reasons known only to him, Kira had suddenly decided one evening to "leave and bring closure to certain matters." They had been standing on a cliff together overlooking the ocean when he made the announcement. She had observed a growing listlessness in his demeanor in the weeks previous, but nothing prepared her for this statement. Sensing his need to keep the nature of the matters private, Lacus had thus chosen not to pursue that particular path of conversation. Instead, she merely made a simple declaration. "I will join you."

"No." Kira turned to her. _His eyes. So gentle._ "The world needs Lacus Clyne, right now."

"Am I to give up my freedom then, and become a servant to the world?" she challenged, in a tone colder than she had intended.

He smiled at her attempt to persuade him. "It is with your freedom that you choose to serve the world, Lacus."

She shook her head in frustration at his deft counter, and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Kira..." Lacus whispered. Holding a position on the PLANT Supreme Council and serving as liaison to Orb had consumed much of her life; in the two months following the Second Valentine War, she shared sparingly little time with the Freedom pilot.

Pulling her into a hug, he spoke into her ear, "It's alright, Lacus. I'll return, when I-"

"That stupid idiot." Cagalli's voice cut into Lacus's reminiscence. "I can't believe he just ups and goes on a vacation without telling me. Everyone in Morgenroete went into a panic when I told them he left."

Lacus, despite her brief nostalgic change in mood, smiled slightly at the other woman's statement. Unlike the months following of the first conflict, Kira became active in numerous projects after the Second Valentine War. In addition to escorting her through space, he and Athrun started Project SA and Project Sim with Morgenroete. Kira also worked with the Orb military training program to help improve the mobile suit piloting curriculum.

Cagalli continued. "And, of course, Kira never remembers that he's an Admiral now, instead of a civilian. He's the only officer in the military that doesn't do paperwork. I'm still not sure how he manages to get away with that."

"Does it really matter how he thinks of himself?" Lacus questioned.

Cagalli opened her mouth to answer, but then stopped herself, most likely realizing she was complaining in a rather undignified manner. A look of mild frustration crossed her features. Sensing something amiss, Lacus looked at her friend in concern. "Cagalli... what is it about Kira that is really bothering you?"

The blond princess fidgeted for a moment, staring at her empty cup. Eventually, she sighed in resignation. "In the first war," Cagalli spoke softly. "When we were hiding in the Mendel Colony... he... brought back a photo." The songstress nodded in understanding, as she was one of the few aware of their sibling relationship. Cagalli looked directly into the Lacus's eyes. "Did he tell you anything?"

The pink princess shook her head.

"I didn't think so. I asked him about it a few weeks before he left, and he wouldn't say anything."

Lacus felt the puzzle pieces fall into place. "So that's why."

Cagalli glanced up at Lacus. "What?"

"I believe he intends to confront the ghosts of his past." Silence hung between the two as each woman considered that statement. Perhaps Kira had left in search for the answer Cagalli desired.

"I looked into it, you know. About the Mendel colony." Lacus turned to the other in surprise. "They did some suspicious genetic activities there, but I could not find any specifics."

Lacus nodded, waiting for Cagalli to continue. The blond princess lifted her gaze. "I wonder if I'm a Coordinator."

"Would anything change if you had an answer to that?"

Cagalli glanced at the pink princess.

"Even if you are a Coordinator, you would still be Cagalli Yula Atha, would you not?"

"I would still be Cagalli, but not an Atha," the Orb Representative whispered.

Lacus began to speak again, but saw the other's shushing gesture. Following Cagalli's eyes, she noticed the approach of a beautiful young woman about their age.

"Good evening, Representative Atha," the newcomer greeted as she fixed a strand of dark purple hair in place.

"How do you do, Representative Bae?" Cagalli responded. Motioning to Lacus, the blond princess introduced, "Lacus, this is Representative Arisu Bae, newly appointed member of the Emir Council. Bae-san, this is Councilwoman Lacus Clyne, member of the PLANT Supreme Council and intermediary to Orb."

Turning to Lacus, Arisu smiled and spoke in a musical voice, "It is an honor meeting you, Councilwoman Clyne. You probably hear this often, but I must confess to being a fan of your music."

"I am flattered, Representative Bae. You have done a splendid job with this party," Lacus complimented. "I especially love the theme."

"Why thank you," Arisu responded. Lowering her voice, she smiled and whispered conspiratorially, "Actually, the ball idea was rather selfish of me; it gives me one last chance to play dress-up before I enter the world of politics." Lacus giggled with Arisu in true female bonding fashion, and then each further exchanged compliments on the other's dress. Cagalli sighed into her hand for the eighth time that evening, muttering something about women and frilly lace.

"In any case," Arisu said, "I wanted to inform you, Representative Atha, that the Scandinavian Ambassador will be arriving shortly."

"Oh, thank you."

"No problem. If you two don't mind, I must see to the other guests."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Representative Bae," Lacus curtsied.

"Please, call me Arisu," the hostess called out as she walked away. The two young princesses stood in silence for a few moments, thinking over the encounter with the hostess.

"Be careful of her, Lacus."

The songstress looked over to the other with an expression asking the obvious question.

"She acts ditzy and naive, but Arisu is actually very sharp. Hmm... that reminds me of someone else I know," Cagalli mused, looking at Lacus pointedly.

In the most oblivious fashion, Lacus responded, "Now, now, Cagalli. You shouldn't talk about your secretary like that."

"I think I need to retract an earlier opinion I made today..."

x-x-x

"So this is the legged ship?" Shiho asked no one in particular. Leaning on the front railing of a boat with her companions, she watched the looming, ominous form of the Archangel fill her vision. The half moon provided enough light to distinguish shape and the colors on warship, but otherwise most details could not be made out.

"First time seeing it?" Lunamaria asked.

"No, but first time this close. I never engaged it at Jachin Due or Messiah."

"The legged ship is a piece of work," Dearka commented. He had joined up with the others as they left Shinn's home. "How does it compare to the Minerva, Athrun?"

The young man so addressed kept his view forward as he spoke. "It came down to the crew." _Past tense_, Shiho thought. An evaluation made not about a hypothetical setting, but instead an explanation of history.

"Are you saying we didn't have enough power?" Shinn growled.

Athrun turned toward Shinn. "You faced them when they were only trying to stop the war. You've never fought the Archangel when they held nothing back. Or..." He paused, for a few seconds. "Or when Kira went all out."

"What? He was just taking it easy on me?" Shinn argued.

_Probably._ Shiho had analyzed most of Freedom's battles, especially the ones against Providence and Legend. After discovering that Admiral Yamato also piloted Strike, she scoured the archives for those sorties as well. Unfortunately, no record remained of the final battle between Strike and Aegis. Nonetheless, she might very well be the foremost expert on Yamato's fighting ability, with the exception of himself, of course. And given this foreknowledge, Shiho believed that, in the Second Bloody Valentine War, Kira Yamato took it easy on everyone.

"No, Shinn," Athrun answered. "But regardless of your battle against him, in Operation Angel Down, the ship escaped. _You_ do not make up the entire crew of the Minerva, Shinn, just as the Archangel consists of more individuals than simply Kira. If you want to compare the two ships, then compare everyone on them, not just the respective ace pilots."

"Heh. Yzak didn't feel that way," Dearka slyly interjected. "How many times did you scream, 'Die, Strike!'"

"Shut the hell up, Dearka," Yzak snapped. Shiho smiled at their antics.

"But Athrun's right," Dearka continued. "The crew... they had _civilians_ working for them. People with no military background. But they still fought well; they're survivors."

"You mean like Miriallia and Sai?" Lunamaria asked. Dearka nodded.

"And Kira," Athrun supplied.

All heads whipped to Athrun. "What?" Yzak demanded.

And so, in an even voice, Athrun told the story of Kira's first experience in Strike, and, more notably, his lack of experience beforehand.

"He took on Miguel with _no_ training? That's impossible." Yzak stated coolly. "He's lying."

Dearka frowned in thought. "Reprogramming the OS while fighting? I can't believe that, and I've fought with him in the First War."

"Actually..." a soft voice made itself heard. Everyone turned to Meyrin. "He _can_ do it." Shiho observed as everyone allowed the weight of Meyrin's professional opinion sank into everyone's minds. "And, Waltfeld-san talked about how he adjusted Strike's settings for desert combat in the midst of battle. Things like heat convection."

Shiho grinned. "So he did not look like an idiot, floundering in the sand. Right, Dearka? Commander Jule?" She had, of course, studied Strike's desert battles as well.

"That's enough out of you, Pilot," Yzak replied, mildly embarrassed. Athrun, Shinn, and the Hawke sisters looked like they missed some form of inside joke.

"We couldn't even take down an inexperienced civilian? Oh man," Dearka moaned. "At least he's a Coordinator." Yzak looked away, clearly not believing Athrun's statements.

The blue-haired man stared straight into Dearka's eyes. "Mwu-san pilots better than most Redcoats, Dearka."

"We're here," Lunamaria interrupted. They finally arrived at the ship so many of whom had failed to destroy.

x-x-x

"Oy! The ZAFT crew is here!" a voice boomed from across the Archangel hangar. _That sounded like Chief Murdoch_, Meyrin thought. Her vision scrambled to find a certain blond, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized Cagalli had not arrived yet. Glancing over at Athrun, she noticed that he too was attempting to locate the princess.

"Thank you for attending, everyone," Mwu greeted as he and his fiancée approached the newcomers.

"No, thank you for inviting us," Yzak replied smoothly. "And congratulations on your upcoming wedding."

"Thank you, Jule-kun," Murrue said. As the couple exchanged pleasantries and introductions with everyone, Meyrin took another scan over the hangar. It contained only two mobile suits, which she recognized as Infinite Justice and the new suit that Athrun and Kira had designed. Simple, modest decorations adorned various parts of the hangar. Folks gathered at various places including the catwalks, on top of Justice's left foot, the simulation center, and the large buffet table. Andrew Waltfeld, wearing a chef's apron and hat of all things, stood behind the buffet table with a pair of tongs in his hand.

"Dearka-kun, are you alright?" Murrue asked in concern.

The man in question tugged nervously at his collar and seemed to be looking beyond the couple. Following his gaze, Meyrin noticed the approach of Miriallia, her orange dress swishing from her strides. Behind her was an amused and slightly intoxicated Murdoch, along with Sai Argyle, fellow programmer on Project Sim.

"Hello Athrun, Lunamaria, Meyrin." Miriallia then turned to the blond ZAFT pilot with a rather crafty smile. "De-ar-ka."

"Uh... yo, Miriallia," he got out awkwardly. Meyrin looked at her sister, seeing the surprise mirrored. _They knew each other?_

Athrun leaned back and whispered to the two sisters and Shinn. "They used to date. After the First War."

Meyrin's eyes widened at this new revelation, and her mind raced to form a coherent pattern amongst the clues.

_Dearka fought against the Archangel as part of the Creuset Squad._

_Dearka, at some point, fought on the same side as the Archangel in the First War._

_Dearka, thus, defected from ZAFT to the Archangel, for some unknown reason._

_Dearka knew that Miriallia was a civilian that served on the Archangel._

_Dearka used to date Miriallia, after the First War._

Of course, she reached the obvious conclusion any female her age would reach, but before she had a chance to evaluate its potential validity, Chief Murdoch shouted for all to hear. "Hey, Elsman!" He wrapped his arm around Dearka's shoulders and pulled the pilot into something resembling a headlock. "Let's get a drink. Wash away your sorrow of getting dumped by Little Miss Pretty here." Captain Ramius hid her face in both her hands while Colonel La Flaga almost choked on his drink.

"Oy! Let go!" Dearka shouted, struggling and failing to get out of the big man's hold, despite being a Coordinator. "That was years ago!" he yelled with a frown.

"Wait, she dumped you?" Yzak inquired loudly. All eyes turned to the young commander. "You told me you dumped her."

All eyes then turned to Dearka, who was in the act of making shushing gestures while still partially bent over and trapped in Murdoch's headlock. Meyrin watched Miriallia slowly cross her arms and develop a cold smile that would spell doom for the blond pilot. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Shiho convulsing with silent giggles and Mwu failing to suppress a smile.

Scanning the expectant crowd, Dearka turned and pushed Murdoch. "Hey, show me the drinks, Old Man."

"I'm not an old man, Boy!" Murdoch responded, but nevertheless complied in leaving.

"We're going to have a talk later, Dearka!" Miriallia yelled, shaking her fist in the air. Resolve broke then and guffaws filled the area.

After the laughter subsided, Lunamaria grabbed Miriallia's attention. Holding onto Shinn's hand, she introduced, "Miriallia, Sai, this is Shinn, whom I've talked about. Shinn, this is-"

"Miriallia Haw?" Shinn questioned in confusion.

"Shinn... Asuka?" Miriallia replied in equal befuddlement. _Does she know everyone in ZAFT_, Meyrin thought to herself.

Her sister echoed her thoughts, "Do you two know each other?"

"We went to grade school together before my family moved to space," Miriallia replied. Seeing some confusion due to their age difference, she further explained, "He had skipped a few grades and entered in our class." Turning to Shinn, she asked, "You're with ZAFT now?"

Shinn nodded, but had a puzzled expression. "You were on the Archangel?"

"Yup. I was on Heliopolis when everything happened," she answered.

Shinn, however, still had the same look on his face. "But, the Archangel was with the Earth Alliance then, right? Why would you join them?"

Miriallia hesitated, and glanced at Captain Ramius, who looked down in something resembling sadness. Or maybe regret? Sai stepped in and carefully answered, "Things happened in the First War."

With a more upbeat expression, Miriallia changed the topic. "Hey, I remember now! You have a cute little sister. Mayu, right? How is she doing?"

Meyrin heard her sister Lunamaria inhale sharply as Shinn's grip on her hand intensified. After a half minute of no reply, Shinn finally answered in a low voice.

"Things happened in the First War."

An awkward silence fell over the group, as each veteran remembered their respective horrific experiences in the Bloody Valentine Wars. Shinn in particular still harbored resentment toward some of the Archangel crew, especially against La Flaga for some unknown reason. While on a logical level he probably understood that the war was at fault, not the individuals, holding a grudge was one of Shinn's exceptional talents. Meyrin recalled the hours her sister spent pleading for Shinn to attend this party. But, she acknowledged, he did come and that does say something.

A soft, feminine voice entered the area. "Athrun-chan!"

_Chan?_

"Aunt Caridad. Uncle Haruma," Athrun greeted the approaching couple, bowing slightly.

"My, you've lost weight," Caridad remarked as she lightly pinched Athrun's cheek. "You haven't been eating properly, have you?" A blush crept up Athrun's face as Yzak lightly snickered and Luna smiled behind her hand. _He's so cute when he blushes!_ "We haven't seen you in a while, Athrun-chan."

"Ah, Aunt, Uncle, this is Meyrin Hawke," Athrun introduced, ignoring the reactions of his "friends" at the moment. "Her sister, Lunamaria Hawke, and Shinn Asuka. We served together aboard the Minerva. This is Yzak Jule, who was part of the Creuset Squad with me, along with Dearka Elsman over there by the drinks. And this is Shiho Hahnenfuss, part of the Jule Squad." Everyone nodded as they were introduced. Caridad gave them all interesting looks that could only be described as... appraising.

Facing the ZAFT crew, Athrun announced, "Everyone, this is Haruma and Caridad Yamato, parents of Kira Yamato." Meyrin glanced over at Shinn and Yzak, watching their surprised reactions. Meeting the parents of someone you tried to kill repeatedly was not an everyday experience.

"Ah, so you know our son," Haruma commented.

"Yes, Admiral Yamato commands the Orb Fleet," Yzak answered neutrally.

"He does?" Caridad responded in surprise. The parents turned to Athrun for confirmation. "He did not mention this before."

"Kira... most likely didn't want to worry you," Athrun supplied weakly. Caridad wore her concern on her face while Haruma sighed. In defense of his friend, Athrun continued, "Well, it _has_ been six months since the last battle, so he probably forgot."

"Wait, he's had the nation's military under his command for the past _half year_?" Haruma demanded.

Athrun paused for a moment, obviously evaluating the situation. Such delicate circumstances required subtlety. His best friend's fate lay in his hands at the moment, but, fortunately, Athrun possessed great tactical skills.

"Could you not tell Kira I told you this?" Athrun asked, abandoning his friend. Strategic withdrawal was called for, apparently. Meyrin grinned in amusement.

"How does Yamato forget his own rank?" Shinn asked with a frown.

Athrun sighed at this. "Nobody in the Orb Forces actually addresses Kira as 'Admiral Yamato.' Instead, they call him 'Kira-sama' or 'Kid' and sometimes 'Squirt.' And, as I said before, he never formally enlisted in any military whatsoever. Orb sort of... just follows his decisions. Right, Ramius-san?"

"That's close to the truth, Athrun-_chan_," Murrue teased. Yzak lost some control at this point as laughter escaped from him.

"Do you know Athrun very well, Caridad-san?" Meyrin asked.

Caridad nodded. "Yes, he and Kira were inseparable as kids when we lived on the moon. Why, one time, they bought this green tent and-"

"Ah, Aunt Caridad! Why don't I show you the simulator that Kira and I have been working on?" Athrun practically shouted as he pulled the couple away from Meyrin and the others.

Eyeing Murrue, Mu, Sai, and Miriallia, Yzak smirked mischievously. "Captain Ramius, I would like to propose a joint mission between the crew of the Voltaire and the members of the Archangel."

"Oh, and what would the nature of this mission be?" Murrue ventured with an amused expression.

x-x-x

Mission: Operation Tent Story

Objective: Obtain any and all information regarding the Green Tent Story. Military Intelligence indicates that the following individuals have information concerning this matter: Caridad Yamato, Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala. Potential Resources: Haruma Yamato. Operatives must obtain this information without Zala's knowledge.

Location: Archangel-class mobile assault ship – "Archangel"

Time: Mission must be completed by midnight

x-x-x

As Mwu had predicted earlier, most of the guests crowded around the Mobile Suit Simulator. Four cockpit cocoons were set up, each the size of a compact car. A holographic screen of impressive dimensions displayed the current battle from the viewpoint of several chase cameras. Further screens below displayed live feeds of cockpit interiors; each pilot wore a headpiece attached with a video camera. At the moment, a black ZGMF-1001/M Gunner ZAKU Phantom fought against ZGMF-X88S Gaia, which, in Miriallia's opinion, bore an incredibly ugly ketchup and mustard color scheme. An abandoned moon base served as the setting for this battle, and several buildings have already been destroyed.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Miriallia asked. She stood with the other guests near her age, which thus far consisted of Sai and the ZAFT crew.

"I don't know how good the colonel is," Yzak replied, "but Dearka's handling his suit better than normal. I've never seen him pilot that well, simulator or not."

"Waltfeld-san is one of the primary testers of this project," Sai remarked.

Miriallia slightly accused, "So this is what you guys do all day? Write and play the world's greatest video game?" And here she thought they actually _worked_ for Orb. "You guys haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Well, this is what we did in our research at Heliopolis," Sai protested. "Remember the virtual reality stuff? This is merely a bigger and better version. We're just trying to make the simulator as realistic as possible, so the cocoons shake violently."

"Realistic? Then why do we hear sound effects in space?" Miriallia pointed out, referring to the holographic display and the surrounding speakers. Despite the fact that Dearka and Andrew fought each other on the surface of the moon, the system emitted sound effects for the beam shots and mobile suit movements as if the battle took place on Earth. "And I suppose the background music is what pilots actually hear in their suits?"

"It's really dull and boring to watch if it's silent," Sai answered with a weak smile.

Miriallia shook her head and muttered, "Boys."

"Miri... Meyrin is on the Project Sim team too," Sai pointed out.

"I know. She complains about how all the engineers keep making passes at her when Athrun's not around," Miriallia drawled out teasingly, turning to the redhead. The statement prompted Athrun to choke on his drink while Meyrin blushed fiercely.

Returning her gaze to the holographic display, Miriallia regarded the battle of stealth. Dearka utilized the terrain in conjunction with his sniper talents, executing hit-and-run tactics from hidden and distant positions. Moving stealthily with a mobile suit required a form of finesse of its own, and Dearka controlled his unit flawlessly. Given what she knew of him, Miriallia found his steady method of fighting somewhat surprising.

Waltfeld also stalked and hid around the base like his nickname, but instead desired for a close-combat encounter. Thus far, the older combatant discovered Dearka once, and the engagement demonstrated his superior melee skills. Fortunately for Dearka, he only suffered the destruction of his right shoulder shield.

"Why can't he see Colonel Waltfeld?" Lunamaria asked.

Looking at the screen, Miriallia saw what Lunamaria meant. Dearka was scanning a dark brown building with his sensors and visuals. He currently hid within a dilapidated storage armory, peering through a wrecked hole in one of the walls. However, according to Waltfeld's readout, Gaia was situated within the ZAKU's line of sight, in front of the brown building.

"How is he invisible? Mirage Colloid?" Shinn asked.

"No. Just watch," Sai answered with a knowing smile.

Just as Dearka crept away from the makeshift window, a pair of green energy beams arced from the brown building to the second story above him. Alarms went off in his mobile suit, warning of the numerous amounts of large masses falling on top of it. Despite the moon's lower gravity, the falling debris could still cause some amount of damage to the ZAKU, which lacked phase shift armor. The mobile suit dodged out of the way toward the left, only to see an explosion rip through the wall in front of it, exposing a brown Gaia in its mobile armor form.

Miriallia heard Lunamaria's quiet gasp. "He changed the Phase Shift colors to camouflage himself?"

In such a cramped environment due to the debris, Dearka wisely chose to drop the large Orthros cannon. Hopping back away from Waltfeld, he rotated the ZAKU's left shoulder shield and armed himself with a beam tomahawk. Waltfeld took the opportunity to transform Gaia into its mobile suit form. But before the Desert Tiger had a chance to draw a beam saber, Dearka rushed forward with a shoulder bash using his spiked shield. The Gaia dove to its right out of the way and, in mid-air, switched to arm itself with a beam rifle.

A blinding light filled all hologram screens as Dearka's flash grenade went off.

Waltfeld refrained from firing blindly. The ZAKU dove for its Orthros, sliding along the ground as it reached the weapon. _Nice gamble_, Miriallia thought. He had faked entering melee combat to create an opportunity to use the powerful cannon. While still on the floor, Dearka swung the barrel toward his opponent and opened fire immediately. However, Waltfeld had already transformed back into the quadruped form and currently raced sideways along the wall. Dearka clipped Gaia's left wing, but otherwise his half dozen shots traced Gaia's path along two walls.

"Idiot," Yzak muttered.

The build collapsed internally due to the damage suffered from the beam cannon. Realizing too late, Dearka attempted to stand from his prone position, but the falling debris knocked him back down. Two seconds later, Waltfeld fired his beam rifle into the ZAKU's cockpit, winning the battle unambiguously. _Eh, Dearka will probably make up some excuse about how he had an inferior suit_, Miriallia thought.

Cheers erupted from the audience of the exciting battle. The doors to the simulator cocoons rotated upwards, and the two pilots emerged. "That was a dirty trick, Colonel, with the phase shift," Dearka remarked, smiling. "I have to use that one some time."

"I thought you would appreciate it, Elsman," Waltfeld returned with a grin. "What do you think?" he asked, patting the cockpit.

"Nice. I'm going to get the techies to reprogram my suit with some of these features. The OS on this thing is awesome. Athrun and Yamato wrote this?"

"Technically that's classified information," a voice interrupted. Erica Simmons walked up to the pair of pilots. "But there is no real way to hide that from you ZAFT folks tonight. Yes, those two, along with Sai and Meyrin, are the main programmers. Kira-kun did most of the design."

"You guys got some of the ZAKU leg movements wrong, though. It's less flexible in real life," Dearka commented.

Erica answered, "Well, we don't have access to ZAFT specifications, aside from the damaged suits left behind in Operation: Fury. Almost all of these suits were reverse engineered from combat data." She then smiled next. "And of course Athrun-kun doesn't reveal ZAFT secrets."

"Which suits do you have?" Shinn asked. Miriallia had almost forgotten that Lunamaria mentioned her boyfriend was a mobile suit pilot.

"All of Orb's, ZAFT's, and EA's primary production mobile suits and their most popular variant attachments," Athrun answered. "And some of the unique suits, like the Heliopolis Five, both Freedoms, both Justices, and the new suit we just designed."

"Do you have Legend, Commander Zala?" the girl known as Shiho inquired. Miriallia and everyone else turned to her, but the ZAFT redcoat kept her focus on the blue-haired man.

"Somewhat. Kira designed it entirely himself, based on his two battles against it..." Athrun's voice drifted off slightly.

"Something wrong, Athrun-kun?" Meyrin asked.

"No, nothing is wrong. It's just that, in one of the scenarios we programmed, Kira failed over a dozen times when piloting Freedom. But he got it on the first attempt with Legend." Athrun answered. "Would you like to try out that suit, Shiho?"

"Yes, Commander," she answered with a smile. "I did some research for the later DRAGOON system, and I'm curious on how you re-created of it. May I also attempt that particular scenario?"

Athrun paused at the unexpected request and then glanced warily at Shinn and Lunamaria. "That should be... no problem. One thing, though, Shiho. Part of test requirements is that you cannot kill the targets; you can only disable them."

"I had expected as much," Shiho replied.

x-x-x

"The Minerva!" Lunamaria gasped. On the holographic display, the Minerva cruised at combat speed in one end of the space battlefield, while Legend floated at the other. A live feed window appeared underneath it, showing Shiho's movements within the cockpit. Four other displays appeared with skeletal outlines of the following:

Minerva (AI Template: Talia Gladys)

ZGMF-X56S Impulse (AI Template: Shinn Asuka)

ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom (AI Template: Rey Za Burrel)

ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior (AI Template: Lunamaria Hawke)

"What the hell, Zala?" Shinn shouted. "You and Yamato are training Orb to kill us?" Lunamaria gripped Shinn's left arm to hold him back, but she was also frowning. The other guests all quieted down to watch the scene unfold.

"It's not what you think." Athrun answered. "We programmed these artificial intelligences to help recreate combat simulations. Then we compare those simulations with actual combat data. There is no other way to actually verify the mobile suits were reverse engineered correctly, short of stealing military secrets from other nations."

"And you just happened to pick us?" Shinn challenged, his red eyes reflecting his anger.

"Kira programmed the combat styles of the pilots he's engaged in multiple battles. That includes you, Yzak, and Dearka." Athrun turned toward Lunamaria. "Your AI is based off of pure combat data, since Kira never personally fought you."

Lunamaria turned her head away in resentment. While she was somewhat relieved at hearing this, the concept of having an entire nation's military specifically training to defeat her was still daunting.

"You can phrase it any way you want, Zala, but you're drilling your soldiers to fight us," Shinn continued ranting.

"Shinn! The military never practices against these AIs!"

Lunamaria looked up at that statement in surprise.

"Like I said, we only use it to verify that we reverse engineered the mobile suits correctly," Athrun repeated. "The artificial intelligences that the military trains with are based off of more generic strategies and tactics. On my authority, I forbid the use of individual combat styles outside of testing purposes."

Arms crossed and clearly not appeased, Shinn retorted sarcastically, "So only you and Yamato train to kill us? That makes me feel so much better."

"Shinn," Lunamaria whispered, trying to calm him down. The look of frustration and helplessness on Athrun's face – a very familiar sight during their days on Minerva – indicated to her that he really had no ill-intentions on this issue. She still found it disturbing on a certain level, but even if Shinn's allegations were true, Lunamaria could understand that it makes perfect sense to learn to fight the best the enemy has to offer.

Athrun sighed in exasperation. "Shinn," he said more calmly, "supposing you are correct – and you are not – you of all people have no right to complain."

"What?" Shinn asked in genuine confusion. Athrun's sudden glare could only be described as harsh and accusing, and even Lunamaria almost flinched back from it. She glanced at Shinn who, unexpectedly, widened his eyes in some sort of realization.

The sound of a laser blast from the Minerva's Tristan beam cannons penetrated the conversation, and many of the audience returned their attention to the unfolding battle. Shinn looked away from Athrun, unable to meet the other's gaze. Lunamaria gave his arm what she hoped was a comforting squeeze.

x-x-x

Inside the simulator cocoon, Shiho Hahnenfuss attempted the simplest strategy one can use to fight the Minerva: destroy the separate Flyers of Impulse before they can connect and enable Phase Shift armor. Racing toward the warship, she guided Legend smoothly around the initial green Tristan beam blasts and shots from the Isolde naval rifles. Much to her chagrin, though, these weapons fired relentlessly upon her unit, impeding her progress greatly. In normal operations, the Minerva faced staggering numbers of enemies and thus switched targets constantly; in this battle, however, the former ZAFT flagship had only one target: the Legend.

Dodging and deflecting the complicated firing patterns almost out of instinct, she watched as the Core Splendor, Chest Flyer, Leg Flyer, and Force Silhouette launched from the complex catapult system. Aiming her high-energy beam rifle, Shiho did a rough estimate in her head as the targeting system ever so slowly locked onto the Core Splendor. _Dammit, too slow!_ Switching to manual, she fired the rifle, but her beams narrowly missed the Impulse's main component as the Flyers connected together.

Realizing she came in too far into Minerva's sphere of influence, Shiho redirected her flight path away from the warship. In the meantime, Impulse finalized the connection of the Force Silhouette and activated its Phase Shift armor. The red, blue, and white color scheme appeared on its body surface, and the black and red maneuver fins of the Silhouette emitted exhaust from the flight engines. A red ZAKU Gunner Warrior and a white ZAKU Blaze Phantom exited from Minerva's two side linear catapults, ready to protect the carrier from any threat. The red Gunner assumed a position above the ship, whereas Impulse and the white Phantom streaked toward their target. The Minerva oriented itself to face the Legend while launching a full spread of its Parsifal missiles.

Four small DRAGOON pods hurtled out of Legend's back, assuming seemingly random positions around the mobile suit to shoot down the incoming missiles. Shiho aimed her beam rifle at the head of the closer mobile suit, Impulse, and fired. The enemy moved its head and suit slightly out of the way, arrogantly avoiding the beam. _Just like the battle against Freedom_, Shiho thought. Fortunately for her, she had analyzed that awesome battle in great detail and had several theories on how Freedom should have fought. _Now to test those theories out._

Closing distance fast, Impulse drew its beam saber out, clearly avoiding a long distance battle in which the Legend would have the advantage. Recalling the four earlier pods which took out the Parsifal missiles, Shiho pointed the remaining four small DRAGOON units still attached to her suit at the approaching enemy. Setting them on a rotational algorithm, the units fired in quick succession to send out a continuous barrage of neon green beams. Simultaneously, she drifted backwards while shooting her beam rifle at the white ZAKU, which hovered to her right.

Despite the torrent of blasts, Impulse rushed into melee distance, blocking some of Shiho's fire with its shield and barrel rolling out of the way of the rest. At the last possible moment, Shiho jerked her mobile suit away from the vicious swing of Impulse's saber, letting the enemy mobile suit zoom past her. Drawing out her beam javelin with Legend's left hand, Shiho brought up the reflective shield of her right arm to block the incoming fire from the white Phantom. Ejecting both large and three small DRAGOON pods, she propelled her unit to engage the ZAKU.

_Time to do three things at once._

_One._ Shiho directed the two large DRAGOON pods, each capable of discharging five separate beams, to circle around Impulse and fired repeatedly in a prism-like pattern, hampering the suit's movement and keeping it in place.

_Two._ At the same time, the three DRAGOON units assumed positions behind the Phantom and fired, hemming the white suit to stay in a position between the pods and the incoming Legend. The ZAKU deftly dodged each of the DRAGOON pods.

_Three._ Simultaneously, Shiho began to swing her beam javelin at the ZAKU, which was still armed with only a rifle. The arc of her weapon neared the white Phantom's right arm, ready to slice-

BE-E-E-EEP.

"Dammit!" Shiho cursed as she barely blocked the powerful blast of the red Gunner's long range cannon. Her cockpit vibrated from the impact as Legend was knocked off momentum. Checking her radar, she saw that the ZAKU gunner had advanced close enough to fire its Orthros cannon, but stayed far enough away to be out of range of Legend's DRAGOON units. Her tempo ruined, Shiho commanded the pods to dock back into her suit to recharge. She almost dodged another ferocious fly-by attack from Impulse by performing a partial sideways flip, but the pink saber clipped her left shoulder slightly as the enemy suit passed. Fortunately, she still had full functional use of that arm. As a result of her partial flip, her suit became upside-down relative to three enemy units and the Minerva.

_Chance!_ Despite the weightless nature of open space, all human pilots, Natural and Coordinator alike, tend to fight with a concept of "up" and "down." Centuries of space travel paled in comparison to millions of years of evolution within Earth's gravity. While all forces utilized tactics of a three-dimensional nature, most pilots still oriented themselves to have their heads "up" relative to the some imaginary plane; this plane was usually defined by the layout of mobile suit carriers and warships. Very few pilots were capable of abandoning this inborn sense of orientation.

And Shiho was one of those few.

Before Impulse had the opportunity to turn around from its last pass, Shiho rushed toward it while aiming her rifle. The white Blaze Phantom fired upon Legend, but her left beam shield easily blocked the barrage. Shiho shot twice at the still-turning Impulse, but it rotated with its shield side first, blocking both hits. With their suits oriented upside down relative to each other, the Redcoat pointed her rifle higher, aiming for the unshielded legs. Her blast hit, causing an explosion at the left ankle which changed Impulse's momentum slightly. Seeing her opening, Shiho streaked in to cleave the enemy in two at the waist with her beam javelin.

Impulse separated.

Just like the battle against Freedom. Heart racing at the unexpected tactic, Shiho banked hard to the right, but still fell prey to the beam from Impulse's rifle. Checking the damage report, two of the small DRAGOON pods on her back were destroyed. Glancing at her radar, she mentally calculated the location of the enemy suits and released her remaining DRAGOON pods against Impulse, forcing it to retreat. Seeing that the white Blaze Phantom also stayed a safe distance away, Shiho took the moment to gather her breat- _CRAP!_

On a hunch, Legend whirled around and brought up both beam shields to block the powerful blasts of both Tristan cannons from the Minerva. Shiho's cockpit rocked violently as her mobile suit spun out of control. Panting heavily, she mentally berated herself for not seeing the reason behind the enemies' retreat as she tried to regain command of her suit's movement.

BE-E-E-EEP.

_Again the Gunner!_ Activating her beam shields again, Shiho half prayed that the Orthros cannon would miss. Unfortunately, the beam hit her left large DRAGOON pod, destroying it completely with an explosion. _At least it stopped my spinning_, she mused.

BE-E-E-EEP.

The white ZAKU, this time. Performing a swan dive, Legend avoided the green beam by less than two meters. Spinning to face the Blaze Phantom, Shiho brought her rifle and shot straight at her white target, hitting the right shoulder. The ZAKU's shield exploded off completely, damaging the right arm. While the shield was designed to take a direct blast from the average beam rifle, Legend's rifle was powered by a mobile suit with a nuclear core; thus its destructive output exceeded that of a normal beam firearm. _I can do this. I can live through this._ Shiho took deep breaths in a vain attempt to slow the heartbeat that was pounding in her ears. Checking her radar, she noticed Impulse had retreated toward the Minerva. A new heat source emitted from the warship: Sword Silhouette.

With Impulse occupied, Legend streaked toward the red ZAKU Gunner. After firing two blasts that Shiho dodged, the ZAKU released the Orthros cannon, drew out a beam tomahawk with its right hand, and picked up the cannon with its left hand. Driving itself forward, the ZAKU fired off another blast from the cannon, forcing Shiho to bear to her right. As the two suits closed in, Legend thrust with the beam javelin in her left hand, but the red Gunner intercepted the blow at the weapon's handle with the long Orthros cannon. The ZAKU then swung the tomahawk at the Legend; in response Shiho propelled her suit backwards and activated the DRAGOON pods to fly out and fire upon the red unit. Without advanced maneuvering capabilities, the Gunner fell prey to the multi-vector attack. In one and a half seconds, Shiho completely disabled the red ZAKU.

Making a split second tactical decision, Shiho tossed her beam rifle aside and reached for the Orthros beam cannon as her DRAGOON units docked. All ZAFT mobile suits had compatible dock points for beam rifles; it was a matter of whether or not the suit can supply the necessary energy for the weapon. Pivoting in place, she swung the cannon towards the white ZAKU, which had just finished replacing the energy clip in its beam rifle. Ejecting her DRAGOON units once again, Shiho forced the Blaze Phantom into a predictable path so she could fire the Orthros cannon. _Almost._ Deciding to aim for the units head, she tilted the cannon slightly to the left. _1.3 seconds left..._

The knife embedded itself into the cannon just as she fired.

With her Coordinator mind, Shiho was able to simultaneously recognize Impulse's Folding Razor anti-armor knife, observe that it hit directly into one of the energy arteries of the cannon, and curse that the radar did not detect the knife due to its lack of heat. _Clever pilot_, Shiho thought. Before she could let go of the cannon, the Orthros exploded in a mixture of fire, shrapnel, and beam energy. Despite having Phase Shift armor, Legend was damaged from the explosion. The white ZAKU took advantage of this pause in Shiho's attack to destroy one of the small DRAGOON pods.

Summoning the remaining pods back, Shiho drew her other javelin, allowing her to wield beam weapons in both hands. Impulse had armed itself with both anti-ship Excalibur swords and was still equipped with the maneuverable Force Silhouette. Although she normally preferred to avoid melee combat, Shiho decided that direct engagement with Impulse would prevent the white ZAKU from firing upon her. The weapons of Legend and Impulse crashed into each other, sizzling as the beams intercepted. The two mobile suits attacked and blocked and parried, clashing to gain the upper hand. Legend received a severe gash at the waist while Impulse's chest suffered damage from a glancing blow. Impulse's attacks became more daring, more intense, Shiho noticed. She barely blocked each swing, almost always on the defensive. Each of her blasts from the DRAGOON pods were avoided by mere meters, as the Impulse pilot knew Shiho would not execute a killing attack.

A furious overhead chop crashed through her defenses, tearing and crushing over a meter of metal on her right shoulder. Seeing her impending doom, Shiho recklessly kicked Impulse in the chest, hoping to bounce off backwards. The pilot of Impulse had awesome reflexes and intercepted her leg with the other Excalibur sword. Despite the damage to Legend's foot, Shiho's plan worked, and the two suits separated. Deciding on a spur of the moment course of action, she hurled her left javelin at the enemy.

Rushing forward, Impulse ignored the javelin embedding itself into the right leg and savagely thrust one of the Excalibur swords at Legend. Borrowing a tactic from Freedom, Shiho directed Legend to clamp the anti-ship sword with her free hand and her remaining javelin. However, she was unable to completely slow it down, and the relentless sword pierced into the left side of Legend's chest. Fortunately, the stab was not fatal, and Shiho reacted in time to direct all of her DRAGOON pods to point at Impulse.

Over a dozen laser blasts hit Impulse on the limbs and head.

Ecstatic with her defeat over Impulse, Shiho kicked the enemy suit away. Her left arm now unusable, she tossed aside her remaining beam javelin to yank out the damaged, embedded Excalibur sword. Turning to face the remaining suit, Shiho ejected all of her DRAGOON pods to once and for all take down the Blaze ZAKU. Following a complicated positioning sequence, the pods released a deluge of shots upon the white Phantom, blasting the arms and legs to disabl-

BE-E-E-EEP.

"The Minerva? No, it can't be!" Shiho gasped. Shiho watched in fear, surprise, and awe as the headless, one-armed, one-legged Impulse hurtled itself toward her wielding a beam saber. Utterly unarmed and practically paralyzed by the sheer tenacity of the enemy, Shiho tried to maneuver her unit away. But the Impulse, smoking and emitting electrical sparks in over a dozen locations, reached her nonetheless and thrust the beam saber into her suit, piercing the nuclear core.

Realizing her imminent death, she glanced at all of her displays, and, to the left, she saw the glow of Minerva's Tannhäuser cannon. She had one last thought as blinding whiteness filled her vision.

_How appropriate._

x-x-x

Outdoing themselves, much of the audience cheered even louder than they had done after in Andrew's battle against the blond kid. Despite Hahnenfuss's loss, she performed very well against such incredible odds and especially with the non-kill restraint. However, Murrue noticed several veterans of the First Valentine War kept silent, thoughtfully watching the hologram screens.

"That kid..." Mwu muttered.

Murrue gave her fiancé a questioning glance.

Mwu turned to her with an unreadable expression. After a slight pause, he supplied, "After you and Kira came to Dardanelles, I did some research on, well, his battles. The EA had a record of it."

Murrue nodded in understanding. Unable to prevent herself, she thought of "it", which was the nightmarish battle at Jachin Due. Grieving for the death of Mwu and Flay, Murrue and the rest of the crew helplessly watched the battlefield in the heavily damaged Archangel. Everyone prayed for Athrun's and Cagalli's success in preventing Genesis from destroying all life on Earth, while at the same time became morbidly entranced by Kira's duel against Rau Le Creuset.

Which had an ending that held an uncanny resemblance with this simulation's outcome.

The hissing sound of the cocoon door opening pulled Murrue away from her reverie. Hahnenfuss, however, did not step out. Dearka, who was standing near the front, rushed over to the door. "Shiho!"

Yzak pushed his way through the crowd to reach the cockpit. The two friends helped their trembling teammate out of the cocoon. "I thought I died," a pale Shiho murmured, leaning on the Dearka and Yzak for support.

"Athrun! What the hell is wrong with your simulator?" Yzak yelled.

"I'm fine, Commander Jule," Hahnenfuss insisted. "It was... intense. Very intense." Seeing a chair that Meyrin provided, the three moved toward it. Murrue grabbed a cup of water for the pilot.

"You did very well, Shiho," Athrun commented, walking up to the Redcoat. Murrue glanced at Mwu, communicating that he should disperse the crowd away from this scene.

"I failed, Commander Zala," the young woman replied gravely. She took the water Murrue handed her. "Thank you, Captain Ramius."

"Shinn is one of the best pilots out there, Shiho," Athrun justified, glancing over at the young man. "And Kira did an amazing job duplicating Shinn's tactics."

"One of the best? You took him down rather easily, Commander Zala."

Shinn jerked his head toward that comment. "What?"

Hahnenfuss turned to Shinn. "Your fight against Commander Zala at the Messiah was horrible." Before Shinn could react, she continued, "Not just your performance, but you actually tried to attack Luna. There's no excuse for that."

"Talk about bonding amongst the pilots," Dearka commented. "The Voltaire's gonna be interesting, I can see."

"Shinn was confused at the time," Athrun explained, ignoring Dearka. Murrue glanced over at Shinn; he seemed to be avoiding Lunamaria's gaze.

"Confused? Did he mistake Impulse for Strike?" Hahnenfuss asked sarcastically.

"That's enough, Shiho," Athrun declared.

Eyes widening, Hahnenfuss sat up straight. "My apologies, Commander Zala," she spoke stiffly.

"Pulling rank already, Athrun?" a new voice interjected.

x-x-x

"And now we arrive fashionably late," Cagalli commented, as she and Lacus walked through the hallway to the Archangel hangar. Pink-chan bounced along their side.

"And fashionably dressed," Lacus added with a satisfied smile. She was unable to refrain from teasing her friend, who, at the moment wore a stunning green dress with orange highlights.

Cagalli gave the other woman a dry look. "You know, Lacus, I'm quite certain I can defeat you in a food fight."

"Oh, is that a threat, Representative Atha? Recall that I am a PLANT citizen, now. Such a provocation would constitute an act of war."

"Yes, I had forgotten that," Cagalli answered thoughtfully. "Perhaps I'll steal your precious Kira away when he comes back, instead."

"Pardon?" Lacus asked, slowing her pace.

"I'll just give Kira more responsibilities, which would be easy since he's an Admiral," Cagalli lazily drawled, "and, spend some quality time with him as brother and sister. After all, since we have such _busy_ schedules we haven't enjoyed each other's company for some time. And he won't say no to me because he will definitely want to make sure I am fine with all the stress from leading a country and the whole mess with Athrun."

Lacus came to a stop and warily faced Cagalli.

"I would schedule these responsibilities and brother-sister events on your free time so you can never see him. On top of that, you would have no right to complain because Kira is simply visiting his family. How can you possibly deny him that without sounding like a shrew? So then you'll develop this silent resentment toward Kira and myself, which will grow each time we get together – without you. Eventually it will fester to a point such that it will completely ruin your dreamy relationship."

Cagalli crossed her arms and put on a gratified smile as Lacus could only stare in silence and apprehension. _Serves her right for getting me this stupid dress_, Cagalli thought. Okay, maybe it really was not that stupid. She actually liked the dress. The gown did complement her figure well, and the colors were gorgeous. The material felt smooth against her skin, almost sensual, especially arou- That's besides the point! It was the principle of the matter!

Lacus found this game intriguing and decided to participate. Rarely did she have such an interesting playmate. _Stealing my Kira, will she?_ After a few moments, she acquired a sinister expression. "Tell me, Cagalli... do you think I can seduce Athrun? Away from both you and Meyrin?"

If Cagalli had been walking, she would have tripped. A combination of shock, disbelief, and – though she would never admit it – jealousy crept into her expression. "You are an evil woman."

Lacus performed a curtsy in gratitude.

Cagalli shook her head in mock resignation. "I guess I'll just have to replace all of your clothes in PLANT with t-shirts and grubby pants right before one of your Supreme Council meetings."

"You wouldn't dare," Lacus warned.

Cagalli looked at other woman strangely. "I threaten to break up you and Kira, and you calmly say you'll run to Athrun. I threaten to steal your clothes, and you get angry? Do you not find that somewhat disturbing, Lacus?"

Lacus tilted her head in amusement, a smile returning to her face. "I presented to you a nice gift, and yet you threaten to ruin my happiness. Do you not find that somewhat disturbing, Cagalli?"

_Touché_, Cagalli admitted internally. On an invisible cue, the two ended the game and continued down the hallway. They had a silent understanding that the contents of this strange conversation would never be revealed to another soul. Especially to two young men in particular. After all, there were just some things men didn't need to know.

Entering the hangar, the two princesses saw that the guests separated themselves into two age groups: their generation and the "older folks." Their friends' attention seemed to focus around Yzak's subordinate, Shiho Hahnenfuss, and thus no one noticed their approach.

"How? Did he mistake Impulse for Strike?" Hahnenfuss asked sarcastically.

"That's enough, Shiho," Athrun declared.

Eyes widening, Hahnenfuss sat up straight. "My apologies, Commander Zala," she spoke stiffly.

"Pulling rank already, Athrun?" Cagalli interjected. Lacus had informed her earlier about his status in ZAFT. Her heart rate increased at the possibility of his return to PLANT.

"Haro! Haro!"

"Cagalli! Lacus!" Murrue turned in surprise.

"Sorry for arriving late," Cagalli said.

"Congratulations, Murrue-san," Lacus greeted.

"Thank you, Lacus, Cagalli," Murrue returned. "Now what's this about Athrun-kun's rank?" She had of course noticed Hahnenfuss's formal address to Athrun all evening, but until this moment Murrue had yet to ask anyone regarding this.

"ZAFT dropped the charges against Athrun and Meyrin; they have been reinstated in their former positions, sans Athrun's FAITH status," Lacus answered. Murrue, Miriallia, and Sai turned to the pair in question, who suddenly found themselves the objects of scrutiny.

"Aren't you an Orb Colonel, Athrun?" Sai asked. He had no need to voice the implied question.

"We are still... uh... working on those... small details," Athrun weakly supplied.

"_Small_ details, Athrun?" Cagalli questioned. Looking at the Infinite Justice, she continued, "You are now the first person in history to have two nuclear powered mobile suits at a given time." She gave Meyrin a brief glance and then returned her gaze to Athrun. "I wouldn't call having _two_ a small detail."

Facing each other, Cagalli and Athrun shared a silent look which conveyed a multitude of messages, emotions, and concerns. Meyrin grew increasingly mortified since she was quite certain everyone understood Cagalli's underlying reference. On top of that, she did not appreciate the symbolism her mind was drawing regarding her own position relative to Athrun's and Cagalli's meaningful exchange.

"Hey, I'll take Justice off your hands, man," Dearka suggested amusedly, patting Athrun on the back.

"You can't. ZAFT is at its limit," Yzak stated. Shiho glanced up at him in surprise.

"Limit?" Lunamaria asked. Shinn's expression mirrored hers.

"Instead of banning nuclear suits – because we all know if we have another war, each side is going to break that rule anyways – the Peace Treaty limits the number of such suits for each force," Yzak answered.

"And ZAFT has reached its limit already? That was fast," Cagalli remarked.

Shiho shook her head as Yzak realized he just carelessly revealed a military secret. "That is... uh... plans are in place," Yzak clarified as he tried to recover from his error. "Acquiring Justice would most likely be more trouble than its worth, as current designs and plans would have to be altered."

_Smooth, Yzak_, Shiho thought sarcastically.

"Assuming Orb would just give Justice to ZAFT," Sai added.

Dearka rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm... maybe I can defect to Orb to pilot it."

"Hey, that's not funny," Yzak warned.

"You're right. Last time I did that, you pointed a gun at me."

"Shut the hell up. I'm not the idiot who defected all because of a girl."

"It wasn't _all_ because of a girl!" Immediately, Dearka cringed in realization of what he just said.

"But part of it was, then?" Yzak pressed, barely suppressing a smug expression.

"You two. Need. Girlfriends. Seriously," Shiho interrupted. Everybody laughed at that statement. Well, everyone except for Yzak and Dearka.

"Like you're one to talk, Shiho," Yzak retorted, crossing his arms.

"What are you implying, Commander?" Shiho ventured.

"That you'd have more success with men if you acted and dressed more femininely." Yzak was, after all, never one to hold back his opinion.

Shiho stood up in response, giving Yzak a withering glare. Walking toward Athrun, she saluted stiffly. "Commander Zala. If you need any pilots on your team, I'd like to apply for a position."

"Hey!" Yzak shouted. Really, losing his star pilot to his arch-rival would completely ruin his evening, pride, military career, and the cosmic balance of fairness.

Athrun, not quite certain of the seriousness in this unexpected turn of events, decided to gain his bearings. "On what grounds are you requesting to leave your former Commander?"

"Sexual harassment." Turning to Yzak, Shiho gave him a sadistic smile. "He wants to get me into a skirt."

Dearka coughed to cover his guffaw, desperate not to interrupt the flow of conversation. Athrun, on the other hand, gasped in surprise at the possibility. He glanced at Yzak, and then Shiho. Yzak. And Shiho. _Yzak and Shiho?_

"That's enough!" Yzak erupted. "Defamation of character is a crime, Hahnenfuss. The punishment would be severe if you were charged with it," he threatened. Anything to end this embarrassing charade.

"Crime?" Shiho repeated. "Punishment?" Narrowing her eyes, she turned to Lacus and saluted. "Councilwoman Clyne. I would like to report a leak in military intelligence," she stated coldly.

Yzak sputtered in shock.

Delighted at the invitation into this game, Lacus fell into the part. "And which individual or individuals would comprise this leak?"

"I would first like some measure of immunity, due to the nature of the individuals."

"Granted. You have my personal protection." _Oh, this is so much fun!_ Lacus thought to herself.

"The leak is my commander, Yzak Jule. I can gather witnesses to testify that he released intel regarding our nuclear program to high civilian and military officials of the Orb Union."

"This is a serious matter, Hahnenfuss. Your impeccable record and large number of accomplishments give your testimonials much credence; we will investigate this matter with utmost priority. And Yzak Jule does have a history of communicating warnings to ZAFT's declared enemy."

Yzak's jaw dropped. After all, it was Lacus to whom he gave the warning. _Traitorous bit-_

"Thank you, Councilwoman Clyne." Shiho saluted again, before turning to given Yzak another cold gaze.

"My, my, I did not expect this when we planned the party," Murrue commented amusedly.

"I wish I recorded this," Miriallia chimed in, grinning.

"Hey now, leave the poor Coordinators alone," Cagalli chided.

"Umm..." Sai interrupted. "Aren't you three part of this drama as well?" he asked, purely in the interest of consistency. "I mean, how many women can claim to have... ah... _acquired_... a soldier from the other side?"

Sai gulped in fear at the venomous glares he received from the three women.

x-x-x

"I've been looking forward to this for some time." The speaker secured the last button on the shirt of the pilot uniform he wore.

His companion, also changing into a pilot suit, grunted in reply.

"How do you think they will react?" the speaker continued, closing his locker.

The companion paused for a moment before answering. "It depends on how much information we reveal."

"Any bets on who gets hit first?"

Tucking their helmets under their arms, they walked out of the changing room toward the hangar. The background drone of machinery permeated the air.

"If you get cocky, then you. But lately you've been careful about that."

"Heh. Just for that, I'll make sure to be _extra_ careful."

"Good, we'll have to be. They have a good combination of genetics and experience, plus self-righteousness."

The two young men broke apart when they entered the hangar, heading toward their respective mobile suits. The first speaker approached a technician for last minute questions

The other companion gazed at his mobile suit from the floor of the hangar. He muttered softly to himself.

"It is time for us to meet, Kira Yamato."


	2. Phase 02: Active, Inactive, Reactive

_Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny were created by Sunrise. I do not own Gundam Seed nor Gundam Seed Destiny._

_Background Notes: This piece of fanfiction takes into account Final Plus, but ignores the events in the Gundam Seed Destiny Special Editions._

_Special Thanx to my editor, Mumyou Nanashi!_

**Phase 02 – Active, Inactive, Reactive**

x-x-x

"So how have you been doing, Cagalli?" Murrue inquired. The two women stood leaning against a table, watching the various guests mingle at the wedding shower.

"You mean aside from busy?" the other woman asked with her mouth partially full. As much as Cagalli hated to admit it, Waltfeld certainly knew how to cook a good kebab. So good, in fact, that she decided to snatch a few sticks despite having eaten earlier at the ball. She finished swallowing the piece of meat before continuing. "It's an uphill battle. Again."

Murrue furrowed her brow slightly in confusion. "I thought the Emirs are primarily on your side."

"Not the Emirs. The people," Cagalli answered. "They don't want peace."

The Orb Representative found the political situation vexing, frankly. Though the PLANT and Orb governments formally acknowledged peace between themselves, the people of Orb felt otherwise. Two factors from the Second Valentine War fueled the ire of the citizens. First, ZAFT's seemingly unprovoked attack through Operation: Fury upon Onogoro gave them firsthand experience of war. Some of the more educated persons understood that their nation's treaty with the Earth Alliance validated ZAFT's attack. However, others were quick to point out Chairman Dullindal's supposed stance on aggressive self-defense. Taking such a position would, by definition, exclude frontal assaults against Orb. The debate raged onward, and the supposed hiding of Lord Djibril only complicated matters. While the Orb government technically gave a formal response indicating Lord Djibril did not reside in the country, many soldiers informed their families and friends about the truth of the matter. The combination of these conflicting sources led to a confusing dissemination of information. As a result, the general masses reverted to the simpler interpretation of events: since PLANT attacked Onogoro, then PLANT was the enemy.

The second and more influential event took place soon afterwards. Chairman Dullindal's threat to fire the Requiem superweapon upon Orb essentially escalated his status from "Chairman of the Enemy" to "A Psychopath with a Huge Gun Aimed at Me." Given that he had already utilized it once upon Arzachel Lunar Base, the citizen's readily believed he would carry through with this threat. Despite Orb's successful military defeat over ZAFT, the people demanded more retribution. How can one make peace with a force that tried to annihilate one's entire country?

"The government doesn't represent the people?" Murrue said, not expecting a reply.

"Something like that," Cagalli answered nonetheless. "As far as I know, this is the first time in our history the people want... conflict, whereas the government _and_ military don't."

"That is unusual..."

"The only consolation is that the most popular and vocal anti-PLANT speaker happens to be anti-war."

"You mean Freiden Drystal?" Murrue must have heard about the protest demonstration held the day before.

"Yes. Her," Cagalli replied. "She might be the one reason why the citizens haven't gone out of control."

An interesting figure, this Freiden Drystal. Cagalli had decided to personally research this personage. A Coordinator, Freiden became a leading anti-PLANT activist a month after the Second War ended. Her genetic origins actually increased her popularity, as it gave a sense of authenticity to her cause. She spoke about injustice, but not racism. She demanded reparations from PLANT while at the same time vehemently supported interplanetary peace. Her charisma and righteous words easily attracted the masses. Cagalli found it difficult to argue against Freiden's logic; she could only say that, on an intuitive level, the activist's words will somehow lead down a wrong path.

Cagalli continued, "She is now an outlet for the frustrations and resentment of the people. However, since she doesn't want war, and also clearly doesn't care about the Natural versus Coordinator issue, the people aren't demanding that we take up arms, yet."

"Yet? Is it inevitable?" Murrue asked.

"Not if I can help it. That's what we are working on now. That, and rebuilding Onogoro and launching the new colony." Cagalli sipped her drink. "Lacus has it much worse, actually."

Unlike Orb, the Requiem _did_ fire upon PLANT. In terms of cold numbers, the resulting destruction was six times worse than the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. During the wake of this calamity, the citizens of PLANT needed a figure to hold liable. Capitalizing on this, Chairman Dullindal successfully spread the blame to include Orb because of its protection of Lord Djibril. This, combined with the following defeat of the ZAFT forces at the Messiah, only caused more hatred.

"Are the rumors about Kira true?" Murrue wondered aloud.

"You mean the ones about the 'Freedom Pilot?'"

Murrue nodded. "Andrew mentioned that Freedom and the Archangel are almost reviled in PLANT."

"And Justice," Cagalli appended.

"Really?" a voice interjected. The two women turned to Lunamaria's unnoticed approach. "I apologize; I did not mean to interrupt," she said.

"It's alright," Cagalli assured her. "This concerns you, anyhow."

Lunamaria eyes widened slightly in surprise and curiosity.

"You don't know your own popularity, do you?" Cagalli asked with a gentle smile. "At Daedalus, you, Shinn Asuka, Rey Za Burrel, and the Minerva stopped the Requiem from firing again, and former-Chairman Dullindal broadcast that battle to the public, unedited. You saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and everybody in PLANT knows it."

Cagalli watched in amusement as realization dawned on the other two women. Had Shinn and Lunamaria decided to return to PLANT, they would have received a grand welcome. "Actually, Hawke-san, with your looks, you might be able to give Lacus a run for her money for the Most Popular Female title."

Lunamaria's cheeks reddened slightly as she thought about this. "I'm not sure politics is for me..." she murmured in embarrassment.

"Anyways, back to the main point. You three pilots and the Minerva were – are – widely recognized and respected war heroes in PLANT. But, at the Battle of Messiah, which was also broadcast live, everybody saw you three taken down by Freedom and Justice, and the 'legged ship' defeated the Minerva. And since they were all part of Orb forces at that point, you can imagine the work Lacus has, as liaison between to two nations," Cagalli finished.

"But isn't Lacus-sama involved with Kira-sama?" Lunamaria asked. "That is public knowledge, right?"

"Lacus isn't hiding that fact, and so of course gossip is circulating in the military and Council staff. But as far as the public is concerned, I think it's more of an unconfirmed rumor. Not like it matters, since the citizens positively _adore_ her, despite her association with Orb," Cagalli answered dryly.

"Is that why Kira left on his sabbatical?" Murrue suggested. "To stop the rumors?"

Cagalli paused in thought at this new hypothesis. "I don't think so. Lacus and I have our own theory about that."

"Umm... sorry to change the topic," Lunamaria apologized. "But La Flaga-san asked me to tell you that Miriallia just found her 'Box.' He said you would know what he meant by that."

The two young women noticed that Murrue stiffened at the word "Box." Before they had a chance to inquire about it, though, Murrue quickly thanked the young ZAFT pilot and practically ran away. Lunamaria looked over to Cagalli for some form of clarification.

"No idea," Cagalli responded to the silent question. She mentally perused over what she knew of the woman standing in front of her. Redcoat. Impulse Pilot. Got schooled by Athrun. Meyrin's older sister. Shinn's girlfriend. Mini-skirt. Bad aim.

_I could take her_, Cagalli mused.

x-x-x

Glancing over at the other woman, Lunamaria struggled for an excuse to leave from the awkward silence. She personally had no problem with Cagalli, but her current housemates had varying dispositions toward the Representative.

"So how's Athrun been doing?"

"Eh? I mean, he's doing fine," Lunamaria replied at the unexpected query. After a slight pause, she added, "Cagalli-sama."

"Just Cagalli, please. Given the relationship knot I'm in with your sister, it'll probably be best if we left out matters of rank," she said nonchalantly. "There's no need for you to further resent me."

Lunamaria turned to the other woman in utter surprise. How could she be so blunt?

"I never thought you're the type to get flustered, Hawke-san," Cagalli stated amusedly.

The ZAFT soldier regained her bearings. "Simply Lunamaria is fine, Cagalli-sa... Cagalli. I didn't expect you to be so direct. And I don't resent you." _Not much... Really._ Lunamaria felt slightly uncomfortable under the other's scrutiny.

"You don't lie well," Cagalli concluded.

Lunamaria opened her mouth to respond, but then decided against denying it. Her demeanor changing, she challenged with fierce eyes, "Well, if we're being so honest, then what do you plan to do about this 'knot?'"

The princess returned the expression with equal ferocity. "What else do you want me to do? I got Meyrin an apartment _near Athrun_. I got Meyrin a job _with Athrun_. I leave him alone, and from what I hear, he spends most of his time _with Meyrin_. Is there something I left out? Should I offer to preside over their marriage ceremony?"

"Well maybe if you just let go of him _completely_, then all of this will be resolved. You're the one who tried to marry another man first, you know."

Stopped cold with that accusation, Cagalli looked away in shame. "I know," she said softly.

"He was completely shocked when I told him," Lunamaria pressed, keeping to the offensive.

"I can imagine. He was utterly pissed when I saw him afterwards."

"There are some things he can understand, but not accept." Lunamaria quoted.

Cagalli turned back and narrowed her eyes at the other woman.

_Oh shi-_

"How do you know what he said on the beach?" Cagalli demanded.

Lunamaria silently berated herself for the slip. "Uh..."

Taking a step forward, Cagalli continued. "Athrun never talks about his feelings to others. Not something like this."

Lunamaria stepped back carefully, clutching the table at her side. "Sorry, military secret."

"Military secret?"

Lunamaria nodded.

"You spied on us," Cagalli accused. She paused a moment to think; Lunamaria could see her thoughts racing. "Wait, that means you knew about the fake Lacus?"

Silence.

"And you didn't tell anyone?"

Guilty expression, downcast eyes.

"You spied for Dullindal, didn't you?" Cagalli hissed angrily.

"No!" Lunamaria denied. "It's just..."

"It's just what? Dullindal took advantage of Lacus's reputation! You could have prevented that!"

"I didn't know!" Lunamaria almost cried out. "I mean, I knew something was wrong." Her face red with embarrassment, Lunamaria took a deep breath and decided to plunge forward with the truth. "Athrun said he would look into it. The assassination attempt, I mean. I wanted to help him by not tipping off anyone. So I didn't write it in my report and altered the audio recording."

At this point, Lunamaria discovered that Cagalli also suffered from the flaw of having her emotions play out for the world to see. Surprise, contemplation, and understanding flitted across Cagalli's visage before sympathy finally settled upon it.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Cagalli remarked with some measure of resignation. "It's not like you were hiding it before."

"Hiding what?"

Cagalli gave Lunamaria a dry look. In a slightly higher pitch, she voiced mockingly, "_Oh Athrun, you're such a hero! Can you teach me how to shoot a gun?_" In a more normal tone, she said, "I bet you expected him to hold you from behind to show you how to aim. Such a cheap tactic."

"It was _not_ a cheap tactic. I really do have bad aim," Lunamaria defended, slightly miffed. "And you're not being fair. I didn't know you two were together."

The other woman paused in thought momentarily. "Point. I'll concede that."

"Good." She felt comforted at having won this part of the conversation.

"Your aim really is horrible. I mean, Djibril's shuttle was flying in a straight line, and you still missed. A first year cadet could have hit him," Cagalli remarked off-handedly.

Not quite suppressing a growl, Lunamaria frowned in anger. Enough was enough.

"You. Me. Simulator. Now."

x-x-x

From afar, Meyrin watched partially in trepidation and partially in embarrassment as her sister argued with Cagalli about what was probably the big Athrun mess. Deciding to follow the ostrich strategy, she turned to talk to Shinn in hopes of taking her mind off the possible explosion. Unfortunately, Shinn had decided to enjoy his most favorite pastime: brooding and moping. And he was also pointedly ignoring Mwu, who, for some unknown reason, had remained with the pair after asking Luna to tell Murrue something about some sort of box.

"Why don't you try out the simulator, Shinn?" Meyrin asked, hoping to buoy the spirits of her friend. And, unconsciously, she was fishing for compliments on the project upon which she had worked so hard.

"Why should I? I'm a pathetic pilot, aren't I? After all, the great Commander Athrun Zala took me down so easily," Shinn sneered.

"Athrun takes down everyone easily," a Mwu interjected. "Besides, you beat Kira with an inferior suit, no question about it. Even Athrun can't really claim that."

"Neo..." Shinn hissed in anger, looking at Mwu. "What do you want?"

_How does he know Mwu-san's other name?_, the red-head wondered. Meyrin herself only knew about this because she had asked around during the Second War. It was Miriallia who explained the details of the amnesia story to her.

"Well, I would like thank you for coming tonight," Mwu replied, speaking in a tone more serious than his words suggested. "And also to give you this," he continued, handing a poorly wrapped object toward the young man.

Shinn eyed the object, about a foot in length, with suspicion. "I don't want anything from you, Neo," he hissed. "I don't take gifts from people who can't keep promises." With that, Shinn stood up and began stalking away.

"Shinn?" Meyrin asked, but was ignored. _What is going on?_, Meyrin thought in utter confusion. She and Luna both knew their friend resented Mwu, but the two sisters never discovered the cause of the bad blood. When did Mwu make a promise to Shinn? And she never saw Mwu so serious before this moment.

"I couldn't find the sea shell," Mwu whispered.

Shinn whipped back around at those words.

"After the war, I went back to look for it. All I found was this," Mwu said carefully, still holding up the bundle. "I thought you should have it."

Frowning for a bit, Shinn's gaze traveled back and forth Mwu and the object. After some seconds of silence, he came to a decision. His hand reached out for the object gingerly, or perhaps nervously. A few moments passed as Shinn stood still, studying the brown swathe. Then, finally, he carefully and slowly removed the wrapping, revealing the most evil-looking knife upon which Meyrin had ever laid eyes. Studying the wicked curves of the blade, Shinn, slowly sat back down in his chair.

From Meyrin's perspective, "unusual" didn't even begin to describe this scene.

"I was ordered to put the best pilot into the Destroy," Mwu confessed somberly. Meyrin and Shinn looked up at this. "She did not look like it, but she had better performance scores than the others."

"Performance scores?" Shinn seethed, gripping the knife tightly. "She's just a bunch of numbers to you?"

"Of course not!" Mwu replied angrily. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he explained, "But to Phantom Pain and Logos, Stellar was treated as a piece of equipment, nothing more. The Extended are 'decommissioned' if they become useless."

Meyrin watch Shinn's eyes widen in surprise. Based on what she knew of the Extended incident on the Minerva and what she just discovered now, her mind made the necessary connections to gain a general understanding of the current situation.

Mwu continued, "After all of our failures to take down your ship, this was the last chance given to us by Logos. We had to prove ourselves with the Destroy."

"And so you put her in that... that thing... sent her to die, because of _orders_?" Shinn demanded angrily.

And at that moment, Meyrin demonstrated a measure of confidence that she lacked before the Second War. "Shinn, did you attack Athrun because of _orders_?" she asked pointedly.

The question stole Shinn's attention, forcing the two men to acknowledge her presence. Watching his face darken in shame, Meyrin immediately regretted what she had said. Despite the righteousness of her words – he did try to kill her, after all – everyone silently understood that no one would speak of that terrible incident again. She also just realized that Shinn had been having a horrible time so far at this wedding shower. A reminder of his sister's tragic death, an argument with Athrun, and Shiho's dismissal of his piloting ability were the highlights of his evening. And now this.

"Sorry Shinn, I didn't mean..." Meyrin trailed off, unsure how to comfort him.

Interrupting the two Coordinators, Mwu sighed in resignation. "The fact is, I'm not as strong as you kids. What you did, betraying ZAFT to save Stellar. You knew the punishment was execution, right? Kira did the same thing, giving Lacus back to Athrun, in the First War."

Shinn turned and looked at Mwu with a different set of eyes. _Only Rey has approved of him for saving the Extended girl_, Meyrin realized.

"If I had that strength, maybe I could have saved Stellar. And Sting. And Auel. But I didn't." The older man paused momentarily.

"The things one desires to do, and the things one is able to do."

x-x-x

The pilot glanced at his left heads-up display, briefly scanning the horizon for potential trouble. He maneuvered his mobile suit three meters lower, leaving a wake in the Pacific Ocean water. Staying close the surface lowered their chance of being detected. Two other suits followed in flanking positions.

"ETA... 67 minutes," the pilot spoke to himself. He had some concerns regarding the mission objective, but he felt confident the plan would be executed without any unforeseen circumstances.

x-x-x

"Chili sauce!"

Cagalli's voice rang across the Archangel hangar, drawing everyone's attention to her current conversation. A few minutes ago, an untimely software bug interrupted the simulator match between Cagalli and Lunamaria, much to annoyance of practically everyone. Lacus had redirected the blonde princess away from kicking the simulator in frustration toward the appetizing plates of food. Now Cagalli stood next to her by the buffet table, holding a bottle of chili sauce so as to utilize it in its primary purpose of placing the inner contents upon Lacus's meal. However, Lacus had not expected such a vocal reaction when she asked for a sauce recommendation for her first kebab.

"Yogurt sauce, Lacus. Don't listen to to her," Andrew asserted gently. "The universe would weep if you were to acquire her... unrefined tastes." _Uh oh_, Lacus thought to herself. She vaguely recalled Kira's off-hand comment about Cagalli's first meeting with Andrew.

"Unrefined? I'll show you unrefined," Cagalli shouted, brandishing the chili bottle so as to use it in its secondary purpose of projectile warfare.

Andrew calmly responded by throwing down his gauntlet (oven mitt). He then armed himself with a sword (dirty spatula) and a shield (pot lid).

"Bets!" Murdoch shouted to the gathering crowd.

"Five on Cagalli! She'll win by at least least two hits!" a female shouted, who sounded suspiciously like Miriallia.

"No way, Waltfeld-san will win! Hits on the apron don't count! Ten on Waltfeld-san!" a male shouted, who not-so-coincidentally sounded like Dearka.

Another voice interjected, "Neither will win. Lacus-sama is getting ready to stop the fight before it goes anywhere. Just look at her."

"Are you crazy? Cagalli-sama's temper versus Lacus-sama's mediator skills? Oh, Cagalli-sama all the way!"

Lacus frowned slightly, suddenly feeling compelled to treat this situation as a challenge. Now to find a solution to end the argument. Perhaps she could put both sauces on her kebab?

"Lacus-sama!"

"Cagalli-sama!"

"Waltfeld-san is toast!"

"What do you think, Athrun-kun?"

"Err... well, Cagalli's wearing a dress, which is probably Lacus's doing. So most likely Lacus will get hit with collateral damage," Athrun replied analytically. Lacus internally grimaced as she saw a feral grin form on Cagalli's lips.

Andrew positioned himself between the princesses, defending Lacus.

"Ha ha! The knight in white armor moves to protect the beautiful, elegant princess from the not-so-elegant... err.. wait a minute..." Murdoch narrated drunkenly. Various audience members snickered at the slip. Cagalli gave the mechanic a look so grim it pierced his intoxicated stupor. "Eh heh heh.. quick, get the rest of the kebabs!" Murdoch shouted.

Everyone turned to remaining tray, which was in the process of being quietly removed from the battle zone by Mwu. "Put that back!" Cagalli shouted.

"Sorry, but I prefer yogurt sauce," Mwu apologized amusedly, keeping the tray covered and out of range.

"You traitor!" Cagalli declared, pointing a finger at the Protector of Kebabs.

"Torii," chanted a small, green mechanical bird as it glided and landed upon Cagalli's outstretched finger.

x-x-x

Realizing what Torii's presence meant, Miriallia scanned the numerous entrances into the hangar. She quickly spotted Kira walking calmly toward the kebab crowd. Various persons shouted his name in surprise at his arrival, as apparently, much like her, no one actually knew he had planned on returning from his sabbatical this evening. She watched the Yamato couple moved forward to happily intercept their son. Strangely enough, Miriallia sensed that Kira looked somewhat different than usual. Something dissimilar even from his manner during the Second Bloody Valentine War. However, she had difficulty expressing to herself what actually struck her as odd.

Compared to most others at the party, Miriallia knew Kira fairly well. To her, Kira had much more depth than simply an ace pilot and a high ranking officer. Such labels did nothing to describe Kira as a human being, a wonderful and flawed human being. Even now, she regretted not being able to support him during the First War, when he performed miracle after miracle in battle and nearly lost his own sense of self in the process. He underwent a drastic change during then. All of them had, really, for one reason or another. Sai matured greatly, maybe more so than Kira, despite the lack of glorious achievements. Miriallia lost touch with Kuzzey; however, she did hear he opted for some government work in order to affect the world in his own small way. As for Miriallia herself, well, perhaps she would rather not think about that. She entered and left a relationship with Dearka upon which she still refuses to comment (except that _she_ dumped _him!_). And now, she travels the world and willingly serves as an agent for a clandestine secret society. A few years ago she simply dreamed of marrying Tolle and living a normal life.

Within her small experience as a photographer and a member of Terminal, Miriallia had developed some talent in sensing the measure of a person. And, at the moment, that talent nudged at her mind annoyingly, forcing her to examine Kira more closely. She compared his current demeanor to her memories of him...

_Kira, comically frustrated at the work dumped upon him from their professor at Heliopolis._

_Kira, shocked and confused at Murrue when she threatened his friends with a gun._

_Kira, reluctant to admit his origin as a Coordinator._

_Kira, seething with anger when he was forced into protecting the Archangel._

_Kira, dazed and unfocused in between battles and maintenance duty._

_Kira, mature, strong, and decisive when he returned at Joshua._

_Kira, withdrawn and almost broken after the death of Flay._

_Kira, gentle and composed during the entire Second War._

However, none of those memories matched his countenance at the moment; Kira just seemed different this evening. But then again, something about the way he moved and the way he observed his surroundings also struck a familiar chord in Miriallia. Different, yet familiar. Judging from their expressions, Athrun, Lacus and his parents sensed something odd as well. All his movements were purposeful, no motion wasted. His body reacted minimally from the hard pats the mechanics were giving him. He moved in ways that suggested to Miriallia that he was _prepared_. Not confrontational, defensive, nor paranoid, but instead _ready_. His eyes seemed most different; they almost shined with a light of their own, which unsettled her slightly. Each of his glances focused entirely on a target, without any sign of unsteadiness. His gaze seemingly absorbed large amounts of information with a single glance, and _now he was looking at her!_

Miriallia froze in body as well as in thought. Their eyes met momentarily, and she had the suspicion that Kira knew exactly what contents her mind held. She wanted to do something, but his piercing, yet gentle gaze kept her paralyzed. She could sense him appraising her, in a non-violating, non-offensive manner. Miriallia perceived that he was acknowledging her presence, and that, yes, she knew he had changed somehow.

Then, unexpectedly, Kira smiled at her.

And because of that smile, Miriallia immediately felt comforted, knowing everything was fine. The young man across the hangar was still the Kira she knew, even if he had more awareness of his surroundings than normal.

x-x-x

_Lacus. I missed you. __Cagalli. Wearing a dress.__ - Simulator down. - __- Mother. Father. -__ # Cagalli. Athrun. Meyrin. # __Holding onto chili sauce. Facing Lacus.__#__ Murrue is apprehensive about something. __#__- Worried about something. -__ # - Miriallia recognizes it. - # # Unresolved. # __Must be a fight about kebabs.__- Probably found out about Admiral rank. -__#__ Not a serious issue. __#__Or the dress.__ # - The Awareness. - #_

x-x-x

Meyrin rested uncomfortably underneath the simulator computer core with only her lower half visible to the rest of the world. Sai discovered the source of the "software" bug: some idiot tripped over a cable. Having contributed much effort on the simulator, she had become slightly irritated at this. Since everyone else seemed to be focused upon Kira, she now found herself fiddling with hardware jumpers in order to properly reset the program.

"Can you hand me the tweezers, Miri?" Meyrin asked, holding her hand out. One of the jumper connectors refused to budge, and frustration started to build in her. The programmer felt the requested tool being placed gently in her hands.

"Could you maybe not fix it, Meyrin?" Miriallia asked.

"Why?" Meyrin asked, not really paying attention. Her neck was becoming sore from the awkward position.

"Well, I want the karaoke contest to begin, but everyone's too obsessed with video games."

Generosity warred with selfishness in her heart, as Meyrin was very proud of the work she and the others had done with the simulator. Having a friend call it a mere video game did not help matters much.

_Wait a minute..._

"Were you the one who 'tripped' over the cable, Miri?" she asked while vainly trying to fix the jumper.

"No! Do you really think I'm that type of person?" Miriallia replied.

Meyrin could have sworn she heard someone snort in response.

"Meyrin, your skirt is riding up your legs," Miriallia commented. Just as her friend said this, though, the tweezer suddenly released its grip on the jumper connector, causing Meyrin to accidentally bang her elbow against the side of the open panel. She lay down on her back, rubbing her sore arm.

"I don't care," Meyrin half-snapped, her patience with the computer wearing thin. "Besides, Athrun saw much more when he sneaked into my room at ZAFT."

An awkward pause permeated the conversation as Meyrin wondered why she just blurted out that statement, and Miriallia wondered how to respond.

"That's interesting to hear," another voice remarked.

The young Coordinator closed her eyes, hoping beyond hope that the voice did not belong to the last person she wanted to have heard her statement.

"Please, continue," Cagalli requested amusedly. "I'm morbidly curious now."

Perhaps if Meyrin kept really really quiet, the embarrassing situation would go away.

"Stop teasing her, Cagalli," Miriallia chided, giving the princess a dry look.

"Alright, alright. I was just checking on the simulator. Lacus is monopolizing Kira right now, and Lunamaria did challenge me to a match, after all."

From underneath the bowels of the simulator core, Meyrin remained silent. Fortunately, her friend spoke up, removing the focus of attention from her.

"Why did she do that?" Miriallia asked.

"Well, given what I know of her, and what I know of myself, I think it's the natural conclusion to any possible conversation the two of us could have," Cagalli answered.

Miriallia arched an eyebrow at blond friend.

"Okay, fine, I made a comment about her bad aim," Cagalli confessed.

"Whatever. C'mon, I have a question to ask you. Do you know something about a green tent, concerning Athrun and Kira?" Miriallia asked, voice fading away.

Meyrin breathed out a sigh of relief as the two left her alone.

_I'm such a coward._

x-x-x

Athrun stood next to Kira, their backs to a wall while they quietly observed the rest of the party. He briefly glanced over the other side of his friend, where Lacus sat in a chair humming a tune to herself.

"How have you been, Athrun?" Kira asked in the calm, serious tone he displayed throughout the Second War.

Moving his gaze over to Kira, Athrun decided to give the question an equally serious amount of thought. "I have been busy. And life is very complicated right now," Athrun answered carefully. His response, though, was an understatement, to say the least. In addition to all the projects with Morgenroete and his issues with two particular young women, his recent reinstatement with ZAFT had completely thrown him off guard.

"He's the focal point of most of the drama around here," Lacus added amusedly. "And tangential to the rest." Athrun sighed at Lacus's enjoyment.

"Not the important parts," Kira responded carefully, staring outward towards the other guests.

The other two turned to him with questioning expressions.

"Keeping the peace," Kira clarified, still looking ahead.

_Peace?_ Athrun could not help but ask himself why Kira had such a strange demeanor this evening. Certainly, peace held the greatest importance to everyone here; however, a modicum of interplanetary stability had been attained. Why would Kira be worried about peace?

Lacus's expression slowly changed from amusement to concern. "Kira, Athrun has done enough for this world."

Kira turned to his girlfriend with a reassuring smile. "I know, Lacus. But Athrun's soap opera of a life is nothing compared to what you and Cagalli are doing now."

"Incorrect, Kira," Lacus asserted. "The fact that Athrun has a life like a soap opera means we are at peace now. This is what we were all fighting for."

"Umm... if you two don't mind," Athrun interrupted while fiddling with his necktie uncomfortably. "Please don't refer to my life as a soap opera right in front of me." Really, these two friends of his had the most unusual conversations.

"Oh, but your life has such entertainment value, Athrun!" Cagalli's voice interjected as she approached the three Coordinators. "I mean, how many times have you switched sides? How many girls have you had a history with?"

"Cagalli!" Athrun pleaded, as he turned his head away embarrassingly.

"And you!" Cagalli demanded as she faced Kira. "You just left us without telling anyone! Do you know how worried we were? Where the hell have you been?"

"Actually," Kira answered somberly, "I need to talk to you about that. Later. In private."

x-x-x

Miriallia watched Cagalli approach Kira, Lacus, and Athrun as she walked toward the drinks table. Many of the "adults" were seated at a large table nearby. Deciding to tease her friend, she sat down next to Murrue. "So, what are you going to name the first child?" Miriallia asked nonchalantly.

Murrue blushed fiercely as she and Mwu became the focal point of the table. Andrew lips curled up behind his cup of coffee while Erica grinned amusedly. Kira's parents looked at the couple with more gentler, sincere smiles.

"Uh... that is..." Murrue began awkwardly.

Everyone around the table waited.

"Actually," Murrue continued as she gazed off into the distance, "if our first child is a son, I had considered naming him after Kira."

Caridad and Haruma Yamato gasped in shock as the others took in the surprising statement more quietly. Then, at once, Miriallia and the others followed Murrue's gaze toward Kira and his friends. A moment of silence fell upon the table as they all reflected about those four young adults.

"That seems strangely appropriate," Andrew remarked. "He _is_ amazing."

"By that, I take it you mean something other than his piloting abilities," Erica prompted.

"Of course. He... _they_ ...all four of them have altered the course of human destiny," Andrew stated.

"More than that," Miriallia replied, gaining everyone's attention. "Right now, they are still directing the fate of mankind." She winced at how cliché that sounded when she said it aloud. Nonetheless, the others gave her statement some thought.

Mwu responded first. "I guess that's not much of an exaggeration."

Caridad closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. "Our son should not have to bear such a burden."

x-x-x

Lunamaria placed her hand on Shinn's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Despite the fact that he said nothing, she understood him well enough to know this evening had taken its toll on him. A part of her regretted convincing him to come here, but another part really enjoyed the wedding shower. Lunamaria found it surprisingly refreshing to spend time with similarly aged war veterans. Everyone acted like the young adults they were, but at the same time everyone had a common background with whom each could relate. And perhaps for the first time in her life, she really felt Naturals and Coordinators can interact with each other on equal grounds.

All she had to do now was show that blonde pilot-wannabe what ZAFT Redcoats were really made of.

Still, perhaps they were here long enough; Lunamaria had the feeling it would only be a matter of time before something else upsets Shinn even more. Looking at her boyfriend, she saw him gazing intently at Athrun, Cagalli, Lacus, and Kira.

"Are you alright, Shinn?" Lunamaria inquired cautiously.

Keeping his sights on the four individuals, Shinn answered slowly. "They..."

"Yes?" Lunamaria prompted.

"Rey..." Shinn trailed off. "He's missing. He should be here."

That remark derailed Lunamaria's train of thought. "Shinn?" she asked tentatively. Gods, the last thing they needed was for Shinn to become delirious and think Rey's alive.

"No, I mean... I know he's dead. But he deserved this. I mean _that_," he clarified. "What _they_ have."

Lunamaria struggled to understand the implications of Shinn's statement. "Rey should have a position in the top brass?"

Shinn turned to look at his girlfriend and answered bitterly, "No. Rey should have the same respect from the rest of the world that those four have."

x-x-x

"Why don't you challenge him, Hahnenfuss?"

Shiho glanced at her commander, looking for further clarification to his question.

"The simulator is almost back up, and you've studied Yamato's battles. Go ahead and challenge him to a match," Yzak said.

Considering Yzak's suggestion, she glanced over at the infamous Kira Yamato, who was speaking with Lacus, Athrun, and Cagalli.

"Just remember it's not _real_," he reminded derisively. "I can't believe a Redcoat can't tell the difference between reality and _virtual_ reality."

Shiho suppressed a sigh. Clearly her commander was still peeved at her statements made to Athrun and Lacus earlier that evening.

"Why don't you challenge Commander Zala?" she casually voiced back. "Everyone knows of the rivalry between you two."

Yzak's right hand crushed the paper cup he was holding.

"I'm sorry, I meant your one-sided rivalry. After all, he's beaten you how many times at the academy?" Shiho calmly continued. "It's not like he considers you a rival."

Score one for Shiho.

"Hold on," Dearka interrupted. "It wouldn't be fair for Yzak."

"What!" Yzak snapped.

"Hey, calm down. I'm just saying that Athrun wrote this simulator. Obviously he would have an advantage here," Dearka explained.

Taking few deep breaths, Yzak processed Dearka's statement before replying. "I'll take a warm-up round first, before I go against him." Straightening his collar, he spoke coolly, "After all, someone needs to restore the honor of the Jule team, what with you two failing your matches."

Score one of Yzak.

"Let's see..." Dearka said, with a finger to his lips. "This situation needs a wager."

Shiho glanced at her fellow teammate. Leave it to him to make things more interesting. She looked toward Athrun's direction and noticed Kira and Lacus walk away from the other two. "Alright," she agreed. "If you lose, Commander Jule, you will approve of my application to transfer into Commander Zala's team."

"What? You really want to be under _his_ command?" Yzak seethed.

"It would only be a matter of time before you transfer me back, Commander," Shiho said with a slightly haughty smile.

"Now that's arrogance," Dearka remarked with genuine surprise and appreciation.

"I know my own worth," Shiho stated as a matter-of-fact. "And so does the Commander. He will simply have a _bit_ more paperwork to do, trying to get me back. And lose some of pride in the process."

Yzak glared at his subordinate. "Alright. If... when I win, what will you do?" All three remained silent for a moment before Yzak's face lit up.

"Three months in a skirt, Hahnenfuss," he said with a vicious smile. "I'll let Pilot Hawke choose your outfit each day."

Shiho could only glare at her commander. She knew he cared little about her state of dress as long as she performed well as a subordinate. This was only to humiliate her in the most creative fashion.

"You will simply have to add a _bit_ more to your wardrobe," Yzak taunted. "And lose some pride in the process."

x-x-x

While Yzak Jule learned the controls of the simulator down below in the hangar, Kira and Lacus stood together on the topside deck of the Archangel, standing near the railing overlooking the waters. A sense of déjà vu came over Kira as the breeze gently caressed Lacus's flowing hair, reminding him of a similar scene four months ago.

"Kira."

One word. And yet with this one word, Lacus conveyed relief, concern, worry, and inquiry all at once. This perhaps stood as a testament of Lacus's grasp of the subtlety inherent in the human voice.

"I'm alright, Lacus," Kira said, tilting his head in a reassuring manner.

"Are you, Kira?" she asked, still unsure. "Are you the same Kira I always knew?"

"I am," he responded. "But this is a side of me you could never see before."

Lacus's brow furrowed ever so slightly as she absorbed his statement along with all the other clues from his recent behavior. Quite quickly, though, realization and surprise dawned on her expression. "You're fighting."

Kira's lips twitched into a small smile as he admired her incredible ability to always deduce the correct conclusion.

"Keeping the peace. Training Orb's military. Designing mobile suits," she listed aloud. "You're still fighting, even though the war is over."

He nodded slightly.

And immediately, her face softened in sadness. "Why, Kira? You don't have to fight anymore!" Lacus cried out gently.

Kira took a moment to indulge in blissful happiness at her love for him. All to soon, however, words from another conversation drifted into his mind.

"_But the world you speak of and the world I've revealed... Which is the one that everyone yearns for? If you were to shoot me right here right now, how would you deal with a world that'd be thrown into confusion once again?"_

"_I am prepared for it. "_

"I made a promise to someone that I would," Kira stated softly.

_I will fight!_

x-x-x

Shiho looked around the crowd that had regathered around the holographic display to watch Lunamaria and Cagalli square off. In one of the extra two simulator cocoons, Yzak played through a training mission to get a feel for the system. Word had circulated by an anonymous source whose name began with "De" and ended with "ka" about the match between Athrun and Yzak. The chatter of the crowd distracted Shiho from analyzing what should be an interesting fight between Akatsuki and Impulse.

"So what are they betting?" Miriallia asked curiously.

Dearka explained terms of the wager to the young adults nearby, which also included Athrun, Meyrin, and Sai. Shiho kept her face emotionless when Dearka mentioned the "three months of femininity," and relief filled her as she noticed that the latter three seemed more interested in the current match than the wager.

With her Coordinator ears, Shiho heard Miriallia's whisper to Meyrin. "Is this how Coordinators flirt?"

Shiho continued looking forward impassively, waiting for the conversation to continue. Though she had never met this Miriallia person, Shiho did know her to be an Archangel veteran and Dearka's ex-girlfriend.

"What do you mean?" Meyrin responded confusedly.

"Is this the way those two are courting each other? She sets herself up as a prize to be won?"

Dearka also suddenly found the conversation interesting.

"I mean, it's like she's playing hard-to-get, right?" Miriallia continued, forgetting to whisper. "She's making him work to... obtain her."

Dearka started laughing while Meyrin covered her mouth, suppressing silent giggles. Athrun and Sai continued watching the holographic battle, while Shiho remained ever stoic.

"And he wants her to dress up for him," Miriallia finished.

"He doesn't want me to dress up. He just knows how much I hate skirts." Shiho explained calmly, entering the conversation. Despite the fact Shiho had nothing to be embarrassed about, her cheeks began to flush red as she mentally struggled to find a way to disprove Miriallia's perfectly logical and reasonable assessment of the situation. Still, despite this embarrassment, her voice and expression stayed neutral. "As long as I perform well under him, he doesn't care what I wear."

"_Perform_ well _under_ him," Dearka quoted with different intonations. "I didn't realize your relationship had progressed so far."

Dearka never did discover how close he came to dying a horribly painful death at that moment.

"Dearka!" Miriallia scolded. Turning to Shiho, she smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I thought maybe Coordinators play these subtle mind games during courtship."

"No, not in this case, at least," Shiho said, satisfied to finally clarify everything.

Meyrin, who had resumed watching her sister fight Cagalli, chimed in absently, "And besides, it's not Commander Yzak that Shiho finds cute."

Shiho's face drained of color as she remembered that, earlier this evening, she accidentally admitted her opinion on the attractiveness of a particular Orb Admiral.

"Oh, what's this?" Dearka suddenly asked curiously. "Our beloved Pilot Hahnenfuss actually has a love interest? Come come, please share with us all."

"Dearka, stop embarrassing her!" Miriallia commanded.

"Hey, you're not my girlfriend anymore – I don't have to listen to you," Dearka pointed out. Turning to Meyrin, he opened his mouth to speak.

And the sudden collective shouts of the crowd tore their attention away to the holographic display, which had simply powered off.

x-x-x

To most outside observers, most would believe that in Lacus's relationship with Kira, she provided strength for her beloved. Lacus nursed him after his battle against Athrun and comforted him following the unknown events at Mendel Colony. She acquired two awesome mobile suits for Kira, and, after the First War, Lacus gave up her singing career to live with him. Clearly, Kira depended on Lacus for support.

However, Lacus came to two rather disturbing realizations.

Firstly, Kira presently no longer relied upon Lacus. Of course, he held an affection toward her, but he did not actually need her support. After the assassination attempt upon her, he personally made the decision for everyone to embark on the Archangel. He decided to rescue Cagalli from her dreaded marriage, and he directed the crew during each of its significant battles. Certainly, from the first time she met him, Lacus sensed a quiet, hidden strength within Kira, but as the Second War progressed, his strength became less hidden. Now, she clearly saw he stood upon his own two feet, without the need of anyone.

Secondly, not knowing when it started to happen, Lacus found herself depending on Kira more and more. His actions during the Second War inspired her to launch into space and forge her own destiny. And contrary to popular belief, Lacus was reluctant to give Athrun the Infinite Justice; Kira had to persuade her to do so. His four month absence after the Second War left her emotionally drained, even with his electronic communications. The tenuous peace within the interplanetary system threatened to crumble at any moment, and only the knowledge that Kira will return to the battlefield if such an event occurred kept her from breaking down.

And now, as Lacus conversed with her loved one on the deck of the Archangel, she felt afraid. Insecure. Helpless. At this very moment, their relationship stood on unequal grounds because support only went in one direction. Lacus truly felt Kira no longer needed her. Strangely enough, unknown to Lacus, there existed another individual who understood the emotional roller coaster upon which she now rode.

And her name was Flay Allster.

"Keeping the peace. Training Orb's military. Designing mobile suits," Lacus listed aloud. "You're still fighting, even though the war is over."

_And you have the strength to do so. Alone._

"Why, Kira? You don't have to fight anymore!" she cried out gently.

_Because if you do, you will prove me right._

_That you truly do not need me._

"I made a promise to someone that I would," Kira stated.

_Who? Could it be... her?_

Somehow, without her realizing it, Lacus suddenly found herself in Kira's soft embrace, comforting her, protecting her. She stood beside him now, feeling the warmth of his body, realizing his face was approaching hers, and she closed her eyes in anticipation, forgetting her worries, giving in to the wonderful sensations of the moment and–

Kira gasped.

Opening her eyes immediately, she saw him looking away intensely, off into the horizon.

"Someone's coming. We need to get inside," Kira said ominously.

x-x-x

"Everyone quiet!"

The shout of her fiancé startled Murrue and everyone else at the wedding shower. She turned away from the powered-down simulator to see Mwu dash over towards another terminal. Sensing the urgency in Mwu's voice and movements, the crowd settled down and watched Mwu type a series of commands into the terminal. A visual of a young male soldier operator appeared on the large terminal screen.

"This is Orb Control. We have verified your identification code, Captain Mwu La Flaga," the operator stated.

"What's on the radar for the area bearing northwest of the Archangel's current location?" Mwu demanded urgently. Murrue recognized the look on his face; something very serious had just occurred.

After typing in a few keystrokes, the operator nervously responded, "Nothing out of the ordinary, sir."

"Do an active scan for incoming objects from that direction, now!" Mwu barked.

"What is going on here?" a new voice interrupted. On the terminal screen, an older, bearded man crowded his way into view.

_Pierre Marchand_, Murrue thought to herself. He held the rank of captain, same as Mwu. Known for his no-nonsense approach to matters, everyone recognized him as a strict but competent leader.

"Something is coming in, from the northwest, Captain Marchand," Mwu answered quickly. "Perform an active scan in that direction."

Captain Marchand narrowed his eyes. "Captain La Flaga, are you inebriated," he asked, eyeing the various drinks that happen to be resting on the console of the terminal.

"No!" Mwu replied exasperatedly.

Despite clearly disbelieving Mwu, Captain Marchand nonetheless kept his silence regarding that matter. "What does the scan say, Lieutenant?" he commanded gruffly to someone off screen.

"Almost done... there. There's nothing out there," the off screen soldier reported.

"Keep looking!" Mwu shouted into the microphone.

"Did the Archangel pick something up?" Marchand asked with a hint of impatience. Actually, Murrue was surprised he had not brushed off Mwu yet. At least Marchand gave Mwu the benefit of the doubt.

"No."

"Then how do you know there's something–"

"Mwu-san!" Kira's voice rang from across the hangar. The onlookers turned as one to the new voice. Leaving Lacus behind, Kira sprinted directly toward the terminal used by Mwu.

"Kira-sama!" Captain Marchand saluted with respect.

"Is there anything coming from the direction northwest of the Archangel?" Kira asked urgently.

"No. Active scans indicate nothing out of the ordin–"

"We have something!" a voice shouted from within the Command Center.

"What?" Marchand turned in surprise.

"It's not showing up on any of the sensors, but we have satellite images from a few seconds ago," the off screen voice answered.

"Send the images to us," Kira requested.

"Yes, Kira-sama!"

After tapping a few buttons quickly, Kira turned to the large holographic screen of the simulator, to which he had redirected the visuals. After a few seconds, several gasps sounded as everyone on the Archangel watched a night vision-enhanced image of the Pacific ocean from the top perspective. A few wisps of cloud interrupted the view of three objects flying across the waters. After typing a few more commands into the computer, the perspective zoomed onto the objects and enhanced the image quality, revealing themselves each to be about the shape of a mobile suit. However each had large amounts of what appeared to be canvas or tarp material wrapped around the head, torso and limbs, making identification of the mobile suit type impossible from a visual standpoint.

"Send the two nearest patrols to intercept the unknown units based on the trajectories," Captain Marchand immediately ordered his soldiers in the Command Center. "Warn the pilots the bogeys have cloaking devices."

_Calm and adaptable_, Murrue thought.

"Yes, Captain. Sending Murasame Patrol 3 and 7 to intercept," someone responded.

Another voice from the Command Center shouted, "Captain, bogeys' trajectories are heading directly toward the Archangel!"

"Captain Marchand," Cagalli spoke, appearing in front of the terminal next to Kira. "Coordinate the defense against the unknown entities. Top priority will be placed on protecting the visiting PLANT citizens."

"Yes, Cagalli-sama!"

She then turned to Murrue. "Captain. Please."

"Understood," Murrue replied. "All hands! Level One Battle Stations!" _We've done this so many times before_, she thought to herself. Various persons moved at once, scrambling in different directions. Soon, the repeating alarm went off for the entire ship. _Except not in fancy attire._ "Chief Murdoch, what do we have on board?"

"Just the Justice and Morgenroete's new toy, Captain," the engineer responded, shaking his head to clear off the drunken haze. "Freedom is still being upgraded at the main lab. Unusable."

"Prep the two here for combat. After launching the suits, the Archangel will head to port to disembark the non-Orb personnel," Captain Murrue commanded. "Chief Murdoch, you're too drunk for duty, so please escort our guests to a secure area."

As Murdoch responded, Kira's shouted to the other engineering crew, "Prep the new suit for me."

"No."

And with that word of contradiction, Mwu La Flaga acquired the attention of most of the individuals in the hangar. Murrue turned to watch the unusual situation in which Kira and Mwu might potentially be at odds with each other. "I'll go out there, kid," Mwu declared grimly. In the space of a few heartbeats, Kira and Mwu assessed each other, exchanging some meaningful but private message.

_They know. The same way Kira knew Mwu was in that purple Windam._

Murrue could not help but be apprehensive.

"Alright," Kira answered carefully. "Be careful out there."

x-x-x

"This way, everyone," Murdoch directed.

As the crowd of mixed civilian and ZAFT personnel walked forward in a hesitant, amoeba-like fashion, Caridad Yamato stopped and turned her head. "Miriallia-chan, where are you going?"

The young woman in question turned around with a smile. "I'll be CIC."

"You're not in the military, Miriallia," Murrue said. "You don't have to do this."

"You're short on crew, Captain," Miriallia replied.

"It would be safer for everyone if we helped out," Sai added.

"You too?" Murrue asked in surprise.

Sai shrugged. "I helped with the weapon upgrades on this ship. I think I'm qualified."

"Everyone..." Murrue trailed off, clearly touched.

"Five extra Redcoats, and we're being protected by Na– non-military," Yzak said aloud, catching himself in time.

Fully aware of what he meant to say, Miriallia snapped back, "Well, as long as the invaders are weaker than the Creuset Squad, we should have no problem!"

x-x-x

As the three bogeys appeared on the edge of her night-vision camera at full zoom, the leader of Orb Patrol 3 activated the communications device to broadcast on the open channel. With a clear, assertive voice, she spoke into her microphone. "This is Orb Patrol communicating to the three incoming mobile units. You have entered the airspace of the United Emigrates of Orb. Identify yourselves immediately."

Silence.

"I repeat. This is Orb Patrol communicating to the three incoming mobile units. Identify yourselves and prepare to be escorted out of Orb Airspace."

More silence. The pilot armed the main beam cannon on her Murasame. With deliberate precision, she fired a warning shot into the waters well in front the unknown units.

"This is Orb Patrol communicating to the three incoming mobile units. This is your final warning. Identify yourselves and reverse your course, or we will take necessary measures to ensure the safety of Orb territory."

As expected, no reply issued forth.

Pressing a few buttons, the pilot opened a private communication channel to the accompanying squad. "Patrol 7, this is Patrol 3 squad leader. We will engage Bogey 1. Can you keep Bogey 2 and 3 busy?"

"This is Patrol 7 squad leader," a male voice replied. "Copy that. We will distract Bogey 2 and 3 while you engage Bogey 1. Good luck."

The pilot sent preprogrammed communications to her squad to indicate the appropriate tactical maneuver to use, and then she angled her Murasame to assume a flight path above the incoming units.

x-x-x

Inside the cockpit of the Infinite Justice, Athrun adjusted the the preliminary systems before activating the hyper-deuterion nuclear core.

Miriallia's face appeared on his upper right monitor. "The patrols are about to engage the bogeys."

"How long until we can launch?" Athrun asked. He typed with his right hand while loosening his necktie with the other.

"Forty-seven seconds. Mwu will follow later; engineering needs to replace the practice blanks with live rounds."

The upper left monitor turned on displaying Mwu's helmeted visage. "Hey Athrun-kun. Be careful out there. I know you're good, but..." Mwu trailed off uneasily. "Just be careful."

Athrun admitted to himself that he found it disturbing to see Mwu nervous. "I will, Mwu-san."

x-x-x

_Six versus three_, the pilot of the lead invading unit thought to himself. He considered the possibilities of this engagement. Normally Orb faced enemies in squads of three. However, with only two patrols engaging his team, he thought perhaps the patrols would reform into three separate pairs. As an answer to his unspoken question, the Orb patrol that had broadcast to them flew upwards together in the night sky while the other three Murasames angled into a flanking positions in their left.

"Have fun," the pilot spoke to his teammates.

At that signal, the three unknown mobile suits suddenly split in three different directions. One teammate went left to face a squad while his other teammate continued going forward. Himself, the pilot maneuvered his suit up toward the evening sky to engage the broadcasting patrol.

"Bogey 1 incoming," the leader of Patrol 3 announced onto her intercom. Taking a half second to actually get a good look at the unit, she noticed that the tarp covering the back actually had a large width, wider than the torso of the mobile suit by a significant margin. _Subflight lifter? Wings? Maneuver fins?_ It also lacked a carry shield, unlike the other two Bogeys.

Typing a few buttons, she sent commands to her two wingman to begin Orb's standard attack technique of having three Murasames in mobile armor mode interweave amongst each other as they fire upon a single target. The squad leader chose Rotation Screw Pattern Four. Despite the three-to-one odds, she sensed this battle would be difficult. The cloaking device on the bogey required her team to fire manually, and the tarp cloak hid the enemy's capabilities. Additionally, the evening gave the cloaked unit a great advantage; her team had to constantly keep the enemy in their visuals.

x-x-x

"Scramble more units," Captain Marchand commanded. "We cannot afford to lose the enemy in the dark."

"Roger that," a soldier replied, sending the necessary commands over the communications network.

x-x-x

_They have horrible aim_, he thought to himself, as he adroitly maneuvered around the beam shots. _Oh, that's right, I'm cloaked. Forgot about that._

With a flick of a button, the canvas tarp covering the mobile suit's lower back detached. Following that, he accelerated his unit towards the three Murasames, drawing a beam saber out.

x-x-x

_BEEP-BEEP-BEEP_

The noise from the radar surprised the squad leader as she sent several volleys from her beam cannon toward the target. Suddenly, her monitors displayed very basic statistics of the enemy mobile suit, including size, velocity, distance, and that it carried a beam saber. More detailed information remained unknown.

Distance.

Velocity.

"Break away!" she shouted into her intercom while she jerked her flight stick hard. The squad leader had misjudged the speed of the enemy mobile suit, and now her team had come in too close. Despite her warning though, her two wingman could not evade in time. Closing in on them, the opposing unit swung its beam saber in two swift motions.

And decapitated the two suits as it streaked past them.

"Kira-sama?" she whispered in confusion.

x-x-x

In another invading mobile suit, the pilot noticed his teammate had disabled two of Orb's units easily. Never one to let others outdo him, he detached the canvas material from his suit's lower back and pulled out a beam rifle. With two of Murasames on his tail firing at him, he barrel rolled to the right and shot backwards several times.

The first shot destroyed a beam rifle of a Murasame.

The second shot destroyed an arm of the other Murasame.

The third shot destroyed the head of the first Murasame.

The fourth shot destroyed a wing of the second Murasame.

x-x-x

"All three bogeys show up on radar!" a soldier shouted within Orb Control.

"Can the sensors analyze the suits?" Captain Marchand demanded.

"No. Something is still interfering. All we have are three heat signatures. We think the tarps are interfering with our sensors."

"Continue with the analysis. Label the units Bogey 1, 2, and 3."

"Patrol 3 and 7 have disabled units. Requesting backup."

"Tell them to join the incoming patrol units. How's the Archangel?"

x-x-x

"Bogey 3 incoming from Green Delta," Miriallia announced. "Bogey 2 has disabled Patrol 7 and is heading in from Orange Delta."

"Officer Neumann, liftoff the Archangel from the water, please," Murrue ordered.

"Yes, Captain."

"Charge Gottfried cannons 1 and 2. Prepare for anti-mobile suit combat. Load Korinthos and Wombat missile tubes. Activate Igelstellungs."

Sai typed furiously at his terminal to follow the captain's commands.

"Launch mobile suits!"

x-x-x

"Signals, all clear. Justice, please launch!" Miriallia's voice echoed in the catapult tube.

"Athrun Zala. Justice. Going out!" Athrun announced. The familiar mental rush of entering combat filled his mind as the launcher slammed his body against the cockpit seat. Forcefully catapulted into the evening sky, the gray Infinite Justice assumed its well known burgundy color, indicating the activation of Phase Shift armor. He guided his mobile suit into a barrel roll to dodge any potential fired shots. Afterwards, Athrun engaged the thrusters of his back-attached subflight lifter to maximize maneuverability. Given the unknown nature of the invading units, his tactical analysis concluded that mobility would be key to defending the Archangel.

Glancing at the radar, Athrun noted the locations of the unknown suits. The unit that Orb Control labeled Bogey 3 had a direct trajectory toward the Archangel, while Bogey 2 flanked from Athrun's right. Both of these units skimmed close to the ocean's surface. Bogey 1 had a high position, and seemed to be moving at a more relaxed speed towards their general direction. Deciding that Bogey 3 posed the most immediate threat to the Archangel, he interposed the Infinite Justice in front of the invader's path and thrust forward to meet it head on.

Setting his suit's communication devices to the open channel, Athrun spoke, "This is Colonel Athrun Zala of Orb Forces. Identify yourselves."

In response to his message, Bogey 3 slowed down before suddenly veering away to Athrun's left. His display showed little information about the capabilities of the canvas-cloaked suit. Before he could give chase, though, two successive green beam shots crossed the path in front of him, arresting his forward momentum. Looking to the right, he saw Bogey 2 coming in fast.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Athrun inwardly cursed at those two beam shots. Experience on the front lines gave him a good understanding of mobile suit "combat language": those blasts meant a challenge for a duel. In the two past wars, the concept of single combat more or less became an outmoded tactic in standard military instruction, as Naturals needed the edge of numbers to fight Coordinators. Despite this, though, many pilots had egos to appease, and thus arrogantly sought out such forms of engagement. Nonetheless, only the presence of elite soldiers on both sides allowed for a realistic possibility of a duel.

The pilot of Bogey 2 was either exceptional, or a fool.

x-x-x

"Bogey 2 engaging Infinite Justice," a soldier in Orb Control announced.

"Captain Marchand, incoming communications from ZAFT personnel," another reported.

"Patch it to this terminal," Marchand responded. On the screen next to him, a woman with bright orange hair and an eye patch appeared.

"Orb Control, this is squad leader Harken of Lacus-sama's ZAFT escort," Hilda introduced formally. "Requesting permission to engage the hostiles."

"Permission denied," Marchand answered.

"What?" Hilda shouted, losing all sense of formality. "We have to protect Lacus-sama on the Archangel!"

"We do not have a clear analysis of the enemy, including their origin."

Scowling, Hilda accused, "Are you suggesting they're from ZAFT?"

"If you're smart enough to read between the lines, then you're smart enough to understand why I can't let you sortie. Orb Control out."

"Wait just a sec–"

Pierre ended the connection and turned back to the holographic overview of the battlefield. Two units of six Murasames fought against Bogey 3 near the Archangel, while another six-suit unit flew to intercept Bogey 1. With the Archangel providing support for the Infinite Justice, Pierre judged that he could allocate the Murasames against the other two invading suits.

x-x-x

Northwest of the Archangel, six Murasames in mobile armor mode reached Bogey 1. The thick canvas did not hide the fact that the invading unit clearly lacked a carry shield. Relying on this lack of defense and their own superior numbers, the Murasame pilots opened repeated fire upon the enemy. Despite this disadvantage, Bogey 1 accelerated toward the defending units, avoiding the beam shots with adroit dodges and agile barrel rolls.

"Argh!" one of the Murasame pilots grunted in frustration. Transforming into a mobile suit, he fired his beam rifle directly at the incoming enemy. "Take this!"

Bogey 1 deflected the blast with its beam saber.

"What the?" the Murasame pilot gasped out loud in amazement, only to be interrupted by decapitation of his mobile suit.

Bogey 1 turned around to face the remaining five Murasames.

x-x-x

_The pilot of Bogey 2 is exceptional._

Thus far, Athrun had failed to hit the opponent with either his beam rifle or the numerous machine guns on his Infinite Justice. Additionally, the elusive pilot had managed to avoid all cover fire that the Archangel provided.

Banking left to avoid another green blast, Athrun drew his Shining Edge boomerang and hurled out a beam edge in one smooth motion. The energy projectile whistled through the air, arcing toward the cloaked mobile suit. Instead of dodging out of the way, the unit raised its shield to block the attack. A sizzling sound filled the air as the shield coruscated blue and white light in a hexagonal pattern.

"Beam shield?" Athrun gasped, arresting his movement momentarily. Apparently, the enemy had more advanced technology than he realized.

_Which shouldn't be a surprise since they have new cloaking technology._

x-x-x

_Orb will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack them, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations._

The three guidelines of Orb's international policy echoed in Cagalli's mind. Taking a deep breath, she tried to reassure herself that Athrun would adequately take care of matters. More immediately, she looked over at Kira and his parents, who had worried expressions as they watched their son. Something about this situation must be unnerving her brother, as he had become silent and almost emotionless in his manner and bearing. Cagalli caught Lacus's concerned expression over Kira's shoulder, but the blonde only shrugged unknowingly.

The waiting room in which they had gathered sported a large screen which currently presented the viewpoints of the Archangel's exterior cameras. Most everyone's eyes immediately drew to the display of Athrun engaged in a duel against a cloaked mobile suit.

Ignoring the current battle, Kira walked up to a smaller display and keyed in a few commands. The face of an engineering technician appeared on the screen. "Are the prototypes field ready?"

"Yes, Kira-sama."

"Prep one of them for me. I'll be there as soon as we dock."

"Yes, Sir!" the technician replied before cutting the connection.

"Kira," Caridad Yamato spoke softly, grabbing her son's attention. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going out there. I don't know if Mwu and Athrun can handle it alone," Kira answered, keeping his eyes on the battle.

Cagalli noticed several of the Coordinators took interest in this statement.

"Can't the military take care of this?" Haruma asked.

Kira remained silent for a moment before answering. "I believe this is my responsibility."

"Because you are an admiral of the fleet?" his father responded.

Turning toward his parents, he said, "No. I think this has to do with Via-san and Ulen-san."

The parents gasped softly.

"Wait, you know what this is about?" Cagalli interrupted. Obviously, she had a vested interested in knowing anything behind this attack.

"I just have a feeling about this," Kira answered vaguely. "I can't really explain it."

x-x-x

Athrun jerked the flight stick to place his shield in between a beam blast and his unit's head. Heartbeat pounding in his veins, he pressed the buttons necessary to release the subflight lifter on his suit. While he lacked the talent that Mwu and Kira possessed with remotely controlled units, Athrun nonetheless used his subflight lifter with some measure of effectiveness. As the lifter flew high in preparation for a dive at the enemy, the Infinite Justice plummeted toward the ocean's surface. By creating two points of attack, Athrun also decreased the fighting potential of each individual portion of his suit. He hoped to probe Bogey 2's response with this tactic to get a better gauge of the opponent's fighting style.

Deftly dodging and blocking the beams that fired from two different directions, Bogey 2 reoriented itself and streaked directly toward the Archangel.

"Damnit!" Athrun swore to himself, just then realizing the flaw in his plan. Recalling his subflight lifter back, fired a few shots toward the enemy, attempting to slow it down.

_It's going after the Archangel. It's going after – _Images of Cagalli, Meyrin, Lacus, and everyone on the ship flashed vividly in his thoughts.

And in the calmness of his mind, Athrun activates SEED mode.

x-x-x

"Bogey 2 incoming! Orange, Alpha! Distance, 120!" Miriallia announced.

"Evasive maneuvers. Wombats, fire!" Murrue commanded. "Fire all cannons!"

x-x-x

Within Bogey 2's cockpit, various alarms rang to indicate something had locked onto it. Calmly bringing up his shield, the pilot blocked the blasts from the Gottfried cannons while he firing his gun at the missiles. He then glanced at his rear camera view and saw the Infinite Justice accelerate toward him.

_Perfect._

x-x-x

_- Turning to face me. - __Firing beam rifle.__-Canvas tarp on shield gone.- __Idea.__- Too dark to identify specifics. - __Block with beam shield.__# Must protect. # __Check shield energy loss.__# Meyrin. # __Identify weapon power output.__# Cagalli. # __Matching possible weapons._

Athrun's eyes widened as he examined the list of potential weapons the computer produced. Deciding to obtain a better analysis of the enemy mobile suit, he drew and connected his combinable dual beam saber, activating it behind him.

As he closed in, Athrun watched the enemy stow away the beam rifle and draw another weapon.

And combine it with something else.

Hold the combined weapon behind it.

And activate a dual beam saber.

x-x-x

"Justice is engaging Bogey 2," Miriallia informed the bridge crew.

"Cease fire. Keep a lock on it," Murrue said.

"Yes, Captain," Sai responded.

x-x-x

Frowning at the opponent's duplicate movements, Athrun began his favorite high speed barrel roll flyby attack.

Bogey 2 mirrored the barrel roll attack exactly.

The two mobile suits passed each other.

x-x-x

"Is Mwu ready?" Murrue asked.

"Yes, Captain," Miriallia responded.

"Launch mobile suit!"

x-x-x

Almost everyone in the waiting room gasped at the screen. The Infinite Justice had a severe gash on its left leg, sparks emitting from the metal wound. Bogey 2 showed no visible damage.

But the tarp material then slipped off.

x-x-x

"Strike Angel, please take off!" Miriallia's voice came over the speakers in the catapult tube.

"Mwu La Flaga. Strike Angel. Here I go!" Mwu said.

x-x-x

Murrue stood up from her seat in shock.

"Bogey 2 identified in our library! It's the Infinite Justice!" Sai shouted.

On the video screen, two Infinite Justices hovered in the air. Only the presence of damage on Athrun's unit allowed an observer to distinguish between the two.

"Bogey 2 communicating on all channels!" Miriallia said.

"Patch it through," Murrue responded.

After a few moments of static, a voice echoed into the bridge. "Athrun Zala, right? I've been wanting to fight you." Male. Young. "You!" A note of arrogance. "And Shinn Asuka!"


	3. Technology

**Technology**

1 Mobile Suits 1.1 OMNI GAT-06 Arndam General Description

The GAT-06 Arndam is OMNI's next generation of production mobile suits. The body has the same lanky appearance as the GAT-04 Windam, but has a permanently attached flight pack that looks similar to the wings of the GAT-X105E+AQM/E-X09S Strike Noir. The main characterization of this mobile suit is its cutting-edge weaponry (including the new Beam Missile technology) and the variable hardpoint on the forearms.

While in theory the Arndam can support different weaponry on its forearm hardpoint, in practice the mobile suit already has the pilot's preferred weapon attached. This allows carriers without a dedicated attaching system to operate effectively with the Arndams.

Detailed Description

Flight Pack

- Variable Beam Boomerang Saber

- Many Missiles

Composite Assault Shield

- Anti-beam coating

- Beam Shield Emitter

- Missiles

M9409L Beam Rifle

Mk315 "Stiletto" rocket-propelled anti-armor penetrator x 2

Forearm Hard points

- Beam Shield

- Beam Gatling Gun

- Long Range Beam Cannon (hand-carried in use)

1.2 Orb MBF-E01 Strike Angel Gundam General Description

A hybrid of the original G-Project's GAT-X105 Strike design and collected combat data on ZAFT's ZGMF-X56S Impulse, Orb's new Strike Angel is intended to be the all-purpose elite mobile suit. Much like the original Strike and the Impulse, the Strike Angel has Phase Shift armor and hardpoints for docking a Striker Pack. Furthermore, in order to minimize costs and production time, this mobile suit utilizes much of the same weaponry as other existing mobile suits.

The major difference from the Strike Angel and its predecessors is that the Striker Pack itself has been upgraded to a Subflight Lifter. The Subflight Lifter provides many new abilities: additional firepower in all modes, additional energy replenishment, increased maneuverability, and can be used as a separate fighter or as a stabilizer when shooting. Motivated by the same principle as the FX-550 Skygrasper and ZGMF-X56S Impulse's Silhouette packs, the Subflight Lifters can be independently catapulted from a launching carrier vessel or facility, remote controlled by the Strike Angel, and swapped during combat, providing adaptability and extra energy to the mobile suit. The launching vessel or facility would continuously recharge and recycle the Striker Packs in a battle, providing an "endless" supply of energy as long as the Strike Angel remains near. The Subflight Lifters themselves also have Phase Shift armor, providing some measure of protection during the swapping process or when used as a separate fighting unit.

So far, Orb has produced 5 units of Strike Angels. All units are currently assigned to the Archangel, which needed slight modification to support launching the Striker Subflight Lifter Packs. Plans are in place for the following:

Mass-produce this suit

Upgrade the somewhat outdated weaponry

Construct carriers with launching capabilities

Construct land-based launchers at military facilities

The Strike Angel is the first mass-produced mobile suit with Phase Shift armor.

Detailed Description

The core Strike Angel has a number of enhancements over and above its predecessors (the original Strike and Impulse):

Improvements in mobile suit energy storage and battery usage have put the Strike Angel's battery life a bit longer than ZAFT's ZGMF-X56S Impulse, despite its extra firepower.

The mobile suit has its own core supply of energy in addition to what is available in the Striker Pack. The Strike Angel energy consumption is designed as a two-stage pipeline, where the mobile suit operations draw energy from the core supply, while the core supply draws energy from the Striker Pack. In this way, when the Pack becomes unattached, the Strike Angel still has energy to maintain Phase Shift armor (described below).

By default, the mobile suit comes equipped with two beam sabers and a high-energy beam rifle. The latter is attached to the posterior, like ZGMF-X56S Impulse and several other mobile suits. This addresses the long range combat weakness of the Sword Striker Pack and the close combat weakness of the Buster Striker Pack. Both of these weapons are the same models that the mass produced MVF-M11C Murasame uses.

By default, the mobile suit comes equipped with a left arm shield attachment. This attachment is actually a modified version of the original G-Project's GAT-X105 Strike's arm shield attachment, allowing the Strike Angel more dexterous arm movements. The shield attachment has a beam boomerang and rocket anchor equipped. The suit can further equip an anti-beam shield if desired. With such an armament, use of the anchor is hindered, but it would still be possible to use the beam boomerang.

These changes allow the Strike Angel to can perform competently in most situations, regardless of its attached Striker pack. At any given moment, the Strike Angel has a pair of beam sabers, a pair of combat knives, a beam rifle, a composite arm shield (with associated weaponry), and a Striker Pack with atmospheric-capable mobility and extra firepower.

As before, the Strike Angel has three main Striker Packs that play similar roles as the predecessors, but each have further enhancements. In all modes, the Striker Packs can be attached onto the back, used as a Subflight Lifter, or used as an independent fighting unit. The Packs also feature two over-the-shoulder guns, similar in function and design as the ones on the ZGMF-X09A Justice. The Subflight Lifter carries its equipment at various locations, optimized for quick arming.

The Aile Striker Pack is used for all-purpose combat and speed missions, and has very high aerial capability. The red and black maneuver fins on this Pack resemble the original Strike's Aile Striker Pack. In conjunction with the thrusters already in place on the Lifter, this attachment actually allows the Strike Angel to achieve HiMAT (**Hi**gh **M**obility **A**erial **T**actics) mode. In practice, the Strike Angel does not utilize this attachment as a Subflight Lifter. Additionally, the Aile Striker Pack has an anti-beam shield (identical to the original Strike's shield), and two over-the-shoulder beam cannons which give this mode more firepower than the predecessors. Based on previous combat experience, the Orb military expects this Pack to be used most often. Fortunately, it is also the least expensive to produce.

The Sword Striker Pack is intended for heavy close combat. It contains two of the newly produced Klingelicht anti-ship beam swords. The blade end has the ability to fire off a beam boomerang using the momentum of the weapon's swing. Each weapon is sized to be wielded comfortably with either one or two hands each. This Pack has two over-the-shoulder beam cannons which give it a much-needed increase in ranged attack support. The Subflight Lifter provides this mode with atmospheric flight capability; when attached onto the back, the Strike Angel has aerial maneuverability comparable to the MVF-M11C Murasame, but not on par with the Aile Striker Pack.

The Launcher Striker Pack arms the Strike Angel with the new Atar Impulse cannon; this gun features a combinable design based on the GAT-X103 Buster's primary weapon and a more powerful output than the original Agni. The Atar cannon is in its separated form when attached to the Pack. The Pack has two over-the-shoulder railguns which can operate underwater, as well as a combination weapon pod. The weapon pod includes a 120mm anti-ship vulcan gun and two 350mm gun launchers. The Subflight Lifter provides this mode with atmospheric flight capability; when attached onto the back, the Strike Angel has aerial maneuverability comparable to the MVF-M11C Murasame, but not on par with the Aile Striker Pack.

The Aile and Sword Striker Packs have Type 72 high-energy beam cannons for the over-the-shoulder weapons. These cannons have the same output as the centerline gun that the MVF-M11C Murasame uses in its mobile armor mode. They are less powerful and less expensive than the Type-73F Kai high energy beam cannons on the ORB-01 Akatsuki. From a technological standpoint, there is nothing limiting Orb military from upgrading these cannons. But Orb decided to use the same specifications as the mass-produced Murasame in order to achieve a quicker and less costly yield.

The Strike Angel can draw power from the Striker Packs in both forms of attachment (attached to the back, or as a Subflight Lifter). Typically, when swapping Striker Packs, the Strike Angel attaches the new one before removing the old one. Since there are two hardpoints, this solution allows the mobile suit to have at least one Pack attached at all times. Training exercises and statistics have determined that the pilot should swap Striker Packs before the energy source has been depleted into the red zone. This provides three benefits: (1) the Subflight Lifter still has enough energy to maintain Phase Shift armor while flying back to be recharged, (2) the mobile suit will still have energy to maintain Phase Shift armor for a short duration, and (3) the pilot has an extra amount of energy in case circumstances interrupt the swapping process.

Technical Specification

The technical specification of the MBF-E01 Strike Angel is summarized in the following table:

MBF-E01 Strike Angel

Armament

M2M5D 12.5mm head-mounted CIWS x 2

Type 72 Kai "Ikazuchi" beam rifle x 1 (green beam)

Type 70J Kai beam saber x 2

"Armor Schneider" combat knife x 2

Arm shield attachment x 1

"Midas Messer" beam boomerang x 1 (red)

"Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor x 1

Special Equipment

Phase Shift armor

Hardpoints for mounting Striker Subflight Lifter Packs

Aile Striker Pack

Over-the-shoulder Type 72 beam cannon x 2 (green beam)

HiMAT-capable, high velocity thrusters

HiMAT-capable, non-detachable maneuver fins (red and black fins)

Anti-beam shield

Sword Striker Pack

Over-the-shoulder Type 72 beam cannon x 2 (green beam)

"Klingelicht" 12.4m anti-ship variable beam sword / boomerang launcher x 2

Atmospheric flight-capable thrusters

Launcher Striker Pack

Over-the-shoulder 115mm railgun x 2 (yellow shots)

"Atar" combinable high-energy impulse beam cannon x 1 (greater ranges and power when combined)

Mode 1: 380mm super-hyper impulse beam cannon (red/blue beam)

Mode 2: 350mm anti-armor shotgun (yellow shots)

Combination weapon pod (not detachable from Pack)

120mm anti-ship vulcan gun

350 mm gun launcher x 2

Atmospheric flight-capable thrusters

_Table 1: MBF-E01 Strike Angel Gundam_

Performance & Comparisons Aile Strike Angel

With the addition of the over-the-shoulder beam cannons and HiMAT capability, the Aile Strike Angel surpasses the abilities of the original GAT-X105 Strike and ZGMF-X56S Impulse.

It is slightly greater in performance level with the ORB-01 Akatsuki with the Oowashi Pack. Disregarding the debate of Phase Shift Armor vs. Beam-Reflective Armor, the equipment on the Aile Strike Angel are comparable in function to the Akatsuki, but not as high-end because of Orb's intention to quickly mass produce this mobile suit. The exception is the Strike Angel's ability to achieve HiMAT mode, for which the Oowashi Akatsuki has no comparable feature. As a result, simulations and analysis indicate the two suits are almost, but not quite equal, with the Aile Strike Angel eeking out a win.

The Aile Strike Angel will have the highest production rate as it is the least expensive amongst the three Packs, and the most general purpose.

Sword Strike Angel

The Sword Strike Angel beats the ZGMF-X56S Sword Impulse, hands down. Improved swords, improved aerial maneuverability, and additional over-the-shoulder beam cannons give the Sword Strike Angel a great advantage.

Aside from its obvious usage for heavy close combat, the Sword Strike Angel can also serve as as a frontal shock trooper. It approaches enemies firing its cannons, rifle, and beam boomerangs, and then utilizes its anti-ship sword against the enemy forces.

Launcher Strike Angel

The Launcher Strike Angel received the most improvement amongst the three Striker Packs. The Atar super-hyper impulse cannon exceeds the original Angi cannon and additionally has the capabilities of the combinable rifle of the GAT-X103 Buster. The over-the-shoulder railguns furthers the suit's underwater effectiveness.

In terms of firepower and armament, the Buster Strike Angel does not have a clear lead when compared to the ZGMF-X56S Blast Impulse. The Blast Impulse features two M2000F "Kerberos" high-energy long-range beam cannons. Individually, these cannons are comparable to the Atar separated cannons. When fired at the same target, again the Kerberos cannons are have similar damage potential as the Atar in its combined form. While the Buster Strike Angel uses two beam sabers, the Blast Impulse possesses two beam javelins.

The main advantage of the Launcher Strike Angel is its aerial maneuverability due to the Striker Pack. This, combined with the Pack's ability to operate as a separate fighting unit gives the Launcher Strike Angel a definite win over Blast Impulse.

The Buster Strike Angel can be used for both long range assault and long range defense. In this mode, the pilot typically utilizes the Striker Pack as a Subflight Lifter, allowing the suit to be a mobile sniper. Also, the Buster Strike Angel can easily "sling" the Atar on its back, giving it freedom to use its beam sabers when necessary.

Strike Angel vs. Impulse

The Strike Angel lacks two of Impulse's major characteristics. The first is the Deuterion beam system, which the Strike Angel using the more cumbersome alternative of constantly swapping of Striker Packs. The other is Impulse's ability to swap out damaged parts. Because this latter feature requires a complex, dedicated launching system, the architects of Strike Angel decided to use a more traditional mobile suit frame.

Nonetheless, the enhancements upon the Aile and Sword Striker Packs exceed Impulse's performance (when equipped with the corresponding Silhouette Packs), and in all modes, the Striker Packs can function as a separate fighting unit under the pilot's control.

Upgraded Strike Angel

Some of the equipment on the Strike Angel (main body and Packs) have been upgraded.

Beam Rifle (green beam)

Over-the-shoulder beam guns (red beam)

Beam sabers (combinable)

Two more Striker Packs have been developed by Orb that can attach to the Strike Angel.

The Freedom Striker Pack

10 folding maneuver fins (like original Freedom)

2 over-the-shoulder plasma beam cannons (red / blue beam)

2 under-the-arm rail cannons

HiMat capable

The Justice Striker Pack

2 combinable beam boomerang / sabers.

2 over-the-shoulder beam guns

2 anti-ship vulcan cannons

Combo Shield

Anti-beam coating

Beam shield emitter with backup energy supply.

Rocket Anchor

A special version of the Justice Striker Pack has been developed by Orb that can attach to the ORB-01 Akatsuki mobile suit. In addition to the normal armaments of this Striker Pack, it also utilizes the Yata-no-Kagami anti-beam defensive reflection system of the Akatsuki instead of Phase Shift armor. The Akatsuki cannot use this Striker Pack as a Subflight Lifter, though it can still be used as a separate fighting unit.

1.3 ZAFT ZGMF-X2001S Phantom Knight General Description

During the Second Bloody Valentine War, the Phantom Knight mobile suit design came to a halt as ZGMF-X42S Destiny and ZGMF-X666S Legend became higher priority projects. After the war, peace treaty negotiations settled on allowing each military power to have a limited number of nuclear powered mobile suits. As a result, ZAFT resumed construction of the Phantom Knight and assigned it to Commander Yzak Joule.

While ZGMF-X42S Destiny was designed based on combining all the Silhouette Packs of ZGMF-X56S Impulse, the Phantom Knight utilizes the arsenal of the ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom series with the most popular of the Wizard Packs. The resulting mobile suit contains enough weaponry and equipment to be ready for any situation.

At first glance, the Phantom Knight appears similar to the sky blue Blaze Zaku Phantom, but with hip-mounted gatling beam guns. Each shoulder mounts a spiked shield, and a pair of thruster pods adorn the unit's back. On the side of the unit's right thruster pod hangs the Chimera cannon. On the other thruster hangs the folded Kusari-Ono beam chain axe.

Detailed Description

The Phantom Knight combines the features of the Blaze, Slash, and Gunner Wizard Packs into one unit:

Blaze Wizard Features – Two upgraded thruster pods attached to the back provide the mobile suit with admirable mobility. The original Blaze Phantom also has 14-round missile launchers in each pod, but the engineers removed these in order to enhance the thruster system. As a result, the Phantom Knight now has good atmospheric maneuverability, on par with ZGMF-X666S Legend.

Gunner Wizard Features – The M1600 Chimera composite cannon features greater output and range than the M1500 Orthros cannon, and has a slightly shorter firing latency (trigger-to-firing time). In addition, the weapon contains a 500mm recoilless rocket launcher underneath the cannon.

Slash Wizard Features – The two-handed MA-MR Kusari-Ono G10 beam chain axe is an upgrade to the Slash ZAKU's MA-MR Falx G7 beam axe. The axe head on this weapon can extend from the main staff via an ultra-hard cable, becoming a significantly longer weapon. The axe head still retains its beam edge capability when detached in such a fashion. Much like it's predecessor, it can fold and be stored on the backpack (thruster pods). The unit furthermore has two MMI-M826 Hydra gatling beam guns; these weapons are the same model as the original Slash ZAKU. However, instead of sitting above the shoulders, the guns are hip-mounted and, interesting enough, detachable so that the mobile suit can utilize them as hand-held firearms.

In addition to the Wizard equipment, the Phantom Knight also features Phase Shift armor, beam shield emitters identical to Destiny and Legend, and an ultracompact hyper-deuterion nuclear reactor. Attached to the posterior is a beam assault rifle, and along its "belt" hangs 4 hand grenades. Unlike the beam rifle of the traditional ZAKU, this weapon draws energy from the nuclear core of the mobile suit. As a more unusual aspect, on each forearm is a dual beam claw, much like the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ series.

As opposed to most other mobile suits with Phase Shift armor, the head of this unit has only one "eye."

Technical Specification

The technical specification of the ZGMF-X2001S Phantom Knight is summarized in the following table:

ZGMF-X2001S Phantom Knight

Armament

CIWS x 2

MMI-M733 beam assault rifle x 1 (green beam)

M1600 "Chimera" composite high-energy long-range beam cannon (red / blue beam) x 1

500mm recoilless rocket launcher

MA-MR "Kusari-Ono" G10 large chain beam axe x 1

Detachable, hip-mounted MMI-M826 "Hydra" gatling beam gun x 2 (green beam shots)

Dual beam claw x 2 (Pink)

Hand grenade x 4

MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" beam shield x 2

Upper-arm mounted composite shield x 2

MA-M9 beam tomahawk x 1 (for each shield)

Special Equipment

Phase Shift armor

Ultracompact hyper-deuterion nuclear reactor

_Table 2: ZGMF-X2001S Phantom Knight_

Performance & Comparisons

The ZGMF-X2001S Phantom Knight is almost comparable to the ZGMF-X42S Destiny. Both have general-purpose designs, allowing the units to function in most situations. The primary difference lay in the intended pilot. The Destiny specifications tailor to Shinn Asuka's strengths of mobility and speed, and furthermore enhance his ability to fight other ace pilots (namely, Kira Yamato). The Phantom Knight design aims to encourage Yzak Joule's primary strength: wading into the thick of battle and laying waste to large number of enemy units within close vicinity.

In the end though, the Phantom Knight loses out to Destiny's awesome mobility and maneuverability. And the Chimera cannon is a bit cumbersome compared to Destiny's M2000GX long-range cannon, as it requires two hands to use. Still, this mobile suit stands as one of the best ZAFT has ever produced.

2 Mobile Armor 3 Warships and Spacecraft 4 Superweapons 5 Miscellaneous Warfare Technologies 5.1 OMNI Beam Missiles

These new beam missiles takes on qualities from conventional missile science as well as concepts from the difficult-to-use DRAGOON technology. In short, these missiles fire off beam shots a distance away prior to impact. This increases the effective threat range of the missiles by a significant margin. These weapons can be viewed as less maneuverable, one-time use DRAGOON pods and are meant to be fired off in a salvo of four to six at a time. Even Coordinators have difficulty avoiding beam shots from this many missiles coming from various directions.

OMNI has developed several incarnations of the beam missiles.

Mk3516 "Siren" Beam Missiles

The simplest of the beam missile technology, the Siren series contain small twin beam barrels in addition to its explosive power. The beam barrels can each fire straight forward three times, and do so in quick succession. This allows a staccato burst of six shots for a single missile. Due to the addition of this capability, this weapon has less explosive power than a traditional missile.

This series requires the launching unit to acquire a lock upon the target to be effective.

The main advantage of this missile is that it is backwards compatible with existing missile launchers. OMNI has begun retrofitting its GAT-04+AQM/E-A4E1 Jet Windam forces with these missiles as an answer to the ZGMF-2000 GOUF Ignited mobile suit.

Mk3616 "Banshee" Beam Missiles

Similar to the Siren series of missiles, the Banshee series contain twin beam barrels in addition to some explosive power. However, the energy output of these barrels is comparable to the output of a beam rifle. Additionally, the barrels are not fixed to fire forward, but have a small margin of movement for aiming. Like the Siren series, each barrel can fire three times each, and do so in quick succession.

Both self-targeting and manual locking versions of this missile have been constructed. Mobile suits will generally use the manual locking versions.

OMNI has begun construction of new Jet Striker packs that can both (1) equip these missiles and (2) fit the current series of Windam mobile suits.

RE834 "Starfish" Missiles

Much larger than the Siren and Banshee series, the Starfish series fragment into four individual self-targeting Banshee beam missiles. Because of the self-targeting nature, these weapons can be fired almost blindly into the thick of enemy mobile suits.

This series functions as anti-mobile suit weapons for carriers and assault ships.

5.2 ZAFT Electrical Discharge

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6 Appendix 6.1 Glossary of Initials

Initials

Description

E01

The 'E' stands for Elite.

GAT

**G**ressorial **A**rmament **T**actical. OMNI designation. Example: GAT-04 Windam.

HiMAT

**Hi**gh **M**obility **A**erial **T**actics

MBF

**M**ain **B**attle **F**igure. Orb designation. Example: MBF-M1 Astray.

ZGMF

**Z**ero-**G**ravity **M**aneuver **F**ighter. ZAFT designation. Example: ZGMF-X56S Impulse

YMF

Protot**Y**pe **M**aneuver **F**ighter. ZAFT designation. Example: YMF-X000A Dreadnought

6.2 Etymology

Term

Definition / Origin

Atar

Atar is the upgraded version of the Agni cannon used by GAT-X105.

"Agni" is a deity in Hinduism, as well as the Sanskrit word for "fire." "Atar" is the Zoroastrianism (Sassanid Persian religion) version of "Agni," and also means "fire."

Chimera

Chimera is the upgraded version of the Orthros cannon used by ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior.

"Orthros" is a two-headed dog in Greek mythology. "Kerberos" - which is the name of the cannons on Impulse's Blast Silhouette - is the three-headed dog in Greek mythology which resides in the Underworld. "Chimera" is a beast in Greek mythology made from multiple animal parts. All three of these creatures are siblings.

Klingelicht

Klingelicht is the upgraded version of the Schwert Gewehr anti-ship sword used by GAT-X105 Strike.

"Schwert Gewehr" is German for "Sword Rifle." The GAT-X133 Sword Calamity uses a version of the Schwert Gewehr that is actually a sword that contains a rifle. "Klingelicht" is German for "Sword Light."

Kusari-Ono

Kusari-Ono is the upgraded version of the Falx beam axe used by ZGMF-1001/K Slash ZAKU Phantom.

"Falx" is Latin for scythe. "Kusari" is Japanese for chain. "Ono" is Japanese for axe.


	4. Dead Fic

My apologies, but I will not be continuing this fic.

Many thanx to those who reviewed, and I am sorry to disappoint everyone.


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